Finals are over...

...and I'm exhausted. I  managed to turn the heel of the sock.



I will now start a simple bass-relief pattern. I also finished the hem of the doggy sweater. the picots are sticking out and the edge is rolling, which tells me I did not join the hem to the correct row. But I don't dare to undo it, so I hope  my neighbor does not mind:



Next: Finish the legs! I'm going tomorrow to Las Vegas and I hope to finish before then. This is the same neighbor who'll keep the pooch while we're away. If I finish this doggy sweater on time I will not feel so bad abot making her take care of him.

By the way, what's there to do in Las Vegas? We're not gamers. We're curious about the different hotels and may want to watch a show, but after that, what? I should have asked Vaxgirl.

I should also mention that the stitches are off my pooch and he's doing great.

Finals are coming...

Does that mean it's time for a new project?



Yeah, I thought so. These are socks for the spouse. I saw Marlena knitting socks made of KnitPicks' Gloss and decided to try that yarn out myself.

Thanks for the nice wishes for the pooch. He really doesn't seem to care at all about his stitches. He might when they remove them this Monday, but so far so good.

Four Ugly Stitches

These are not knit or crochet stitches. They're the kind of stitches you can find on your doggy after the vet removes a wart. Here's  a blurry picture, in case you're curious, but skip it if you're squeamish.

Anyway, because of said removed wart, my pooch isn't modeling the mystery project, but lying next to it instead.


I am not allowed to cover his stitches at all, which means taking him out in the cold without a coat or sweater. Luckily, the weather is better now. He might hate the cold, but I don't think he minds the stitches at all. He doesn't even try to scratch or lick them.

This navy blue sweater is not for him, it is a present for my neighbor, who owns another mini poodle and has the same wardrobe issues. It's almost finished. I'm making the same picot edging I learned to make with my mittens, and I also need to make edgings for the front leg openings.

Fun with the webcam

Well, at least we have the webcam, so I shouldn't complain. But seriously, can you believe this is the best picture we could manage of my finished fingerless mitts?



But the funniest pictures are those of my new project. It's just impossible to get a picture right:

            

Next time I'll choose a darker background, maybe then you'll be able to figure out what it is.

They're so unique...

You know what they say about handmade things: None two are alike. Well, that applies to my fingerless mitts:



Both come from the same merino roving which I dyed using purples and greens and that I spun and plied with my spinning wheel. The yarn was very uneven regarding gauge and colors, so I was not expecting identical mitts. Still, I was surprised to see that the second mitt turned out smaller. I could rip it and knit it again with more stitches and rows, but the difference in size is not noticeable when I put them on. I still need to finish the thumb.

I also finished my socks using Jody's cast-off. I discovered that my twisted stitches, which I thought of as a hindrance, were actually very helpful. Here's what happens: On step four, you have to bring the yarn to the back and insert the needle between the first and second stitches, and then you insert it knitwise into the second stitch. In Katharina Buss's method you drop the first stitch to do this, and then picking it up again is a nightmare.

Well, thanks to my twisted stitches, I can simply bring the yarn to the back and insert the needle knitwise directly into the second stitch. And to think that in previous attempts I had de-twisted my stitches back into submission!



I wore my socks yesterday without blocking them and they stayed up without the need to add elastic thread, which is a first for me regarding knee-highs.

Three tutorials

I have completed both socks except for the ribbing and the cast-off.



Luckily, Jody published a tutorial on the tubular bindoff. It's not that different from the kitchener bindoff in Katharina Buss's Big Book of Knitting, except  that it does not require two rows slipping every other stitch (1st row purls, 2nd row knits). I never figured out what was the purpose of those two rows, except maybe make the edge even stretchier.

I'll be trying Jody's method this time. I think I'm more confident now about my twisted stitches, and hopefully I'll figure things out.

Which means I will not be using  Andrea's  picot edge bindoff tutorial for this pair of socks. Ist'nt it a pity? I really felt like giving it a try. That's why I started yet another project:



Which gave me the opportunity to also try out  Melinda's  picot edge cast-on tutorial. Now both edges have picots. That's probably way too many picots but it was an interesting learning experience. Plus, I put some of my easter egg handspun yarn to some use. The problem, of course, is that now I have to knit another mitt. My list just keeps growing, maybe that's why I haven't gathered the courage to update it yet .

Almost Knee-High

The Jaywalker pattern is pretty, but it sure takes up more yarn compared to regular stocking stitch. I was able to increase  without disrupting the pattern (much). I wanted to add some ribbing but I ran out of yarn:



I have some of that patons yarn that I dyed red brick and orange because I wanted to make socks for my husband. But I ended up not liking the colors much and I never got to knitting another pair of socks for him, especially after he complained that the Lion Brand hand-knitted socks were scratchy and he's never worn them again. But I digress. Here are the two skeins that come from that former food color experiment.



The picture's horrible, but what matters is the color. I'm planning on doing the ribbing of the socks in brick red. I don't think I should use the orange. A third option would be to use the original yellow color, but that would be even worse.

I'm thinking it's time to give the spouse a second chance and see if he'll wear a pair of hand-knitted socks made of a better yarn. We'll see.

Silly Quiz

People across America are going to the polls today, but of course I am not. I'm not a citizen,  though I apparently could have passed for one because people kept asking me to register to vote. It must be the grammar:
               

True English Nerd       You scored 76 erudition!

Not only do you know your subjects from your objects and your definite from your indefinite articles, but you've got quite a handle on the literature and the history of the language as well. Huzzah, and well done! The English snobs of Boston salute you.

    

My test tracked 1 variable How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 99% on erudition

Link: The Are You Truly Erudite? Test

Dog sweater

It's finished! It's long enough on the back, but the belly is still bare. It stays in its place because it curves inward near the rump. And, most important of all, it fits snuggly around his chest. None of the sweaters I've ever bought for him ever fit him so well. I should have thought of this before. The turtleneck was my husband's idea.



I can now get back to my pair of socks. I've decided I'll make them knee-high, which means I have to figure out how to increase stitches without messing the pattern.

Funny doggie

I've been making progress with the doggie sweater. I'm making it up as I go and therefore have to keep trying it on the pooch to see how I'm doing. He seems to like it already. I tried to explain that the sweater is not finished yet, that he should let me take it off, but he ignored me and went straight to bed, looking quite comfortable in spite of the circular needle coiled around his neck.



He's so appreciative... I know he will love the sweater when I'm done with it. It's a pity the picture is so blurry. I managed to break our camera and until we get a new one or get the old one fixed, all my pictures will be taken with the webcam.