1. i went out to NJ on saturday to see my family and deliver the baby blanket! sorry, no photos of said blanket with baby. the parents did not want me to post them. it was a grueling day of public transport during which i had to stand most of the time because i STILL have not been offered a seat by anyone on the subway. we’re going on 22 weeks now, no seats offered. i’m now going to keep count from here on out.
2. the ING new york city marathon was this weekend and i was really hoping to track the few people i knew who were running, but the stupid website was down most of the day. let’s this be a lesson to EVERYONE, if you plan on having a high load website (be it a store or a marathon tracker) do not host your site on a windows machine. the damn thing just couldn’t hack it. go UNIX and get a provider who knows something about load balancing. ‘nough said.

ok, onto the FO! only 6 days late, i have finished my socktoberfest socks (now, you must overlook that i started them on my trip to san francisco in september as well.)

a good pair

yarn: sweet georgia superwash sock yarn in angel

needles: US1 addi turbos, 2 circulars

pattern: mine

a couple of notes on my “pattern”: i casted-on 64 stitches and did about a half inch of twisted 1×1 rib before continuing on down in stockinette. i then did a garter stitch short row heel with the misocrafty psso method. i should also mention that i pulled from the opposite end of the skein/ball for the heel so that my striping on the sock would keep going. i then had to pick up 4 stitches on either side of the heel to close up holes and then decrease them away in the next couple of rounds. i knit to the toe and then used my decrease p2tog method to work the toe without kitchener.

look at my heels!

that’s the basic formula! all in all, i’m really happy with the way they turned out. doing these without a pattern really increased my confidence in understanding sock construction. i feel like i could design my own now! i also really love the yarn, though it pooled in the strangest fashion. i had a BUNCH leftover from both skeins so i may make some funky baby socks from them. i’m sure i could have made these angel socks much longer in the leg but i didn’t want to run out of yarn. humph. so i guess my next technique to learn will be toe up!

more FOs this week, i’m sure. i’ve already picked up stitches and been knitting on the ribbed collar of the baby jacket. i hope to have the knitting done by wednesday and it all seamed up by friday so that i can start on the 3-hole shawl and finish up both the mistake rib scarf and the leg warmers. must knit knit KNIT!

speaking of flying, my fingers have been doing a lot of that lately. not only have i been coding like a mad genius at work, but i’ve been knitting every night. it’s so nice to be back into a routine again. the first trimester of my pregnancy really had me down and out, but now i’m back! i feel pretty normal nowadays with only the growing stomach to show that i’m really pregnant. no weird cravings, no insatiable appetite, just normal. it’s kind of nice!

so here’s the progress on the latest projects:

getting close!

i’m really cruising along with this baby ribbed jacket! i finished the second sleeve last night and started working on the right front (that spot where you see the needle hanging out.) i think that i should be done with the body of the sweater tonight! i have the money pit at home and will probably watch it and knit tonight if all goes according to plan. i haven’t seen that movie in years but it gets quoted a lot around my household.

growing…

the mistake rib scarf is growing slowly. i keep switching back and forth between the two balls of yarn i have because they are from different dyelots. i do one big chunk, then another so that, in the end, it will look like it was intentional to have big blocks of different color texture. i should have alternated on alternate rows but i didn’t realize the difference until it was too late… and i hate ripping. so there ya go.

the second angel sock (no picture.. use your imagination) is past the heel and cruising through the foot. i now work on this on the train some days when i don’t feel like reading. this morning i got a lot done on the way into work! so, needless to say, i never finished a pair of socks during socktoberfest, which is a bummer, but i was into the spirit of the thing anyway, and i certainly learned a lot from lolly on sock making! so thanks for the great KAL, lolly!

i still haven’t casted-on for the second leg warmer yet, but i will as soon as i get through the body of this baby sweater. the recipient of the sweater is waiting patiently for it, so i might as well get it done ASAP.

not to be left out of the whole KAL thing for more than, like, 3 seconds, i joined the norovember KAL. it’s also very much like socktoberfest in that there’s no pressure, but if you can knit with noro in november, then do it and join the KAL! i’ve been dying to start my japanese 3-hole shawl forever. you may remember it?

the 3-hole shawl

it’s basically one REALLY long rectangle of wavy stitch with three holes in it. your arms go through the first two holes and then the rest of the shawl wraps around your front and your left arm goes through the third hole. this way your arms are free to do things. great for breastfeeding, if you ask me. this is from the fall/winter 2005 let’s knit magazine in japanese. thankfully, i know enough japanese to do this pattern easy peasy, and it has a chart. no problem.

and this is the yarn i’ll be using (from the stash, of course):

noro silk garden 225

so, once the baby sweater is done, i’m going to cast on for this bad boy. i hope to finish up the angel socks soon too, because i have some christmas knitting to get going on as well. november should be fun! thankfully, i have a nice long thanksgiving weekend at the end of the month and a week of working the box office for the next madair production (come see the second annual Project Playwright!) to get lots of knitting done. huzzah!

back in its rightful place

sorry to say that it wasn’t in the closet balled up in the corner partying with other handknits. if you’ve lost a handknit, it’s possible you will find it in the spot you’re least likely to think of so get an outsider’s help or opinion. when i was younger, i always had my mom look for things i lost because i could never find them myself! i’m glad i married someone who is willing to look for things for me. i seem to be blind to the areas i never think it’s going to be in.

knitting update:

baby sweater in the making

this is the sweater for my friend’s baby, H. it’s actually MUCH further along than this. i already divided for the front and am working through the left sleeve. it’s a quick knit and i’ll have plenty of yarn leftover. maybe a hat too?

one down…

here’s the first of two leg warmers! man, are these fast knits, or what? i was really surprised how quick i was done with it. i’ll cast on for the second one this week after i finish at least one side of the baby sweater.

the second angel sock is almost to the heel (i’ve been working on this at lunchtime or on the train) and the mistake rib scarf is about 12″ long but i have much more to go on it. i’m not in a rush to finish this scarf so i’m willing to put it aside for other ventures.

speaking of other ventures, has anyone else felt that their yarn stash has grown considerably this year? geez, i took one look at mine the other day and felt overwhelmed by what i had. then i read jody’s entry about taking stock of her festival yarn and using it up before the next festival. she is keeping a list in the sidebar of her site and crossing the yarn off the she uses. brilliant idea, i thought! i’m going to take it one step further, though, and take stock of ALL the yarn i have.

i know. i know. the idea spooked me out but i got down and did the dirty work. here be the list in all its glory: the stash (it’s also over there on the sidebar if you need it.) seriously, this is EVERYTHING that i have. most of it is photographed so if you want to see it there are links at the top of the page to my galleries. i’m also going to float the items that i’m currently using to the top. if i don’t use all the yarn for that project, i will re-inventory it and keep it in the list. yarn that gets used entirely will be struck through. hopefully this little experiment will keep me from buying anymore yarn and on track to having “just what i need” instead of “everything that i want.”

laugh, if you must. those of you who know me know that i’m a sucker for color and fiber. it’s gonna be tough. i won’t deny it. but maybe this list will shame me into submission… maybe.

since kyoto was dead for the night, i shifted over to the angel socks. i got to the toe the night before after trying one toe style (star of four point from knitting vintage socks), not liking it, and then ripping it.

almost at the toe

what’s a girl to do? well, i really loved the toe on my embossed leaves socks so i adapted that pattern for the number of stitches that i had and the number of rows i wanted to do to give the toe the right length and finished the first sock!

one angel sock done!

it fits like a dream. i think that this is my best sock yet! (but i say this whenever i finish a sock) and here’s a close-up of the toe.

if you want to do something similar it’s really easy. here’s what i did.

1. i had 64 stitches and knew that i wanted my toe to be around 24 rows long (i measured my row gauge and then measured the amount of toe sticking out of the sock to come up with this number.)
2. i knew i wanted to end up with 8 stitches at the end to pull the yarn through and tighten up the top of the toe (NO KITCHENER!)
3. 64 – 8 = 56 stitches that need to be decreased away. set that number aside.
4. i’ll divide the stitches that i have (64) into 4 equal parts (16), put stitch markers in at the 16 stitch point and decrease 1 stitch per section (p2tog) at the end of each section. this is a decrease of 4 stitches per round.
5. i’m decreasing 4 stitches per round so that means i have to do a total of 14 rounds to get down to 8 stitches (56 / 4 = 14).
6. but i want the toe to be 24 rounds long so i’ll do: 1 decrease round and 1 knit only round, 10 times (20 rows), and then 4 decrease rounds (4 rows), for a total of 24 rows!
7. perfecto.

my decrease of choice is to knit to the last two stitches in the section and then purl those 2 stitches together. they give that nice little detail on the toe. i love this so much more than a boxy toe with kitchener. it makes my feet look smaller and that’s great by me.

so, now that one sock is done, i’ll cast on for the other tonight after i make some more progress on kyoto. in my experience, my second sock always goes much quicker than the first because the first sock usually requires me to think through and plan for any modifications that i might want.. or if it’s a complicated pattern, it may take me longer to wrap my brain around the instructions. but by the time i’ve reached the second sock, i know all that and can cruise right along. i think that this was the main problem with doing two socks at once. i often have to rip back once or twice in a sock in order to achieve my goal and ripping back two socks was a royal pain. i learned a good lesson there.

baby N blanket almost complete

due to the sun setting at around 7PM nowadays, i asked KP to take this picture just short of the blanket being done so that you could see just how big and stripey it is. personally, i LOVE this blanket. the mission falls cotton is so springy and soft and just perfect in this pattern. i just have to weave in the rest of the ends and give it a good wash before saturday. i’ll move the project to the 2006 finished projects page once i have pictures.

so i was knitting like a madwoman all weekend! i wanted to finish the baby blanket so that i can get on to other things but it was too big to carry around with me. so on saturday, while i administrated the auditions for the second annual project playwright, i knit on the first angel sock and listened to my ipod. let me just say that i have found zen and it is the garter stitch short row heel using the misocrafty psso technique.

the zen of heels

it’s brilliant, easy to do, and requires almost no thought whatsoever. i didn’t even have any help from printouts at the auditions. i knit it entirely by memory. very zen. the psso method was super easy as well and there are no discernable holes in the heel.

no holes

i’m truly happy.

this is only the beginning of socks for me this month as i’m participating in socktoberfest! i’d like to get jamming on some knee highs soon (i have the perfect brooklyn handspun set aside for them) so i’m really going to work hard to get these finished as soon as possible.

i also knit on kyoto last night as well, but no progress shot. i’m not taking any more pictures of it till it’s done and i’m wearing it, by jove!

and to top things off this morning here are a few things to note:

• lion brand is bringing back cotton ease! with new colors! huzzah! i see some some more baby blankets in my future.
• the october magknits is out. i love the minimalist sweater. sigh. if only i weren’t pregnant.
• i’m just over 16 weeks preggers now. around week 20 we’ll hopefully know the baby’s sex!

1. NYC residents! i’m seeking a charity that will take yarn donations. i have a large bag of mixed yarn from the spiders that needs to go to a place that will use it. i was thinking that a senior’s center, domestic abuse center, or other women’s center might be good choices. i’ve done plenty of google searches and asking around but have come up empty. if you know of someplace that will allow me to drop off this yarn in manhattan or brooklyn (no shipping! that would be crazy), please leave it in the comments.
2. on a more non-localized charity note, i’m looking for charities that will take things like simple knitted hats, scarves, etc. also for a good cause. i know plenty of you knit for charity but a lot of the names are escaping me. i figure i can whip up some really quick and easy hats with a lot of this leftover yarn and that they would be greatly appreciated by a charity that collects such things. also, please leave names/URLs in the comments. thanks!

a quick update on all of my projects:

the baby N blanket is past the half-way point and is getting easier to handle, row by row, as i’m decreasing one stitch per row. i already wove in the ends on the first half of the blanket so that it wouldn’t be a crushing task at the end.

the angel sock is ready for its heel! i made good progress on this first sock at a play reading this weekend. i’m going to do a garter stitch short row heel using the wrap method outlined by misocrafty.

wow, the contrasting yarn looks really gold in this picture. it’s more of a wheat color, i swear. i took all these photos this morning as i was running out the door. should have color corrected them! kyoto has the beginning of its sash! horray! i looked at the photo on knitty and made sure to do the opposite (incidentally, her instructions in the pattern are correct.. it’s left over right but the photo is backwards. my guess is that knitty flipped the photo.) i noticed also in the photo that the cross over on the front is pretty wide, but when i tried it at home, it looked horrible. it looked best crossed right at the front. so i’m working on this every now and again when i’m tired of the baby blanket. but the baby blanket HAS to be finished soon. my cousin, kate, is ready to pop! she’s posting her eviction notice soon. i must knit furiously!

speaking of furious knitting, check out this really cute youtube video i found this morning (runs about 7 minutes, but it’s worth it.)

the last knit

back to san francisco (though that trip is already a week past!), KP and i drove back into the city late on thursday just in time to catch rush hour traffic across the bay bridge. first off, damn that bridge is long! and what are all those cranes for that are just sitting off to the side? i’m not sure. we decided to spend the last few days of our trip at the W hotel and, boy, is that a lovely hotel. really swanky and nice and the staff were outrageously competent. i highly recommend it.

on thursday night, we decided to take it easy because of my knees and had dinner at lucky creation which is a must for all vegetarians! oh my, the sweet and sour pork was AMAZING! they have the best fake meat ever and our HUGE dinner was less than $20. it’s a bit of a hole-in-the-wall and definitely dress down if you do decide to go. but don’t be turned off by their decor. the food is excellent.

mmmm, hot tea

on friday, i was treated to a 90-minute pedicure at the bliss spa in the W (thanks KP!) and then spent most of the afternoon reading. KP was writing postcards when a guest showed up outside our window.

whatcha doin’ in there?

this seagull hung out for at least an hour! he was huge and awfully curious! i got in a little facetime with him…

awk awk awk!

and then he flew off when KP ran off to do some errands while i took a picture of the traveling sock.

friday afternoon, after relaxing, KP and i went next door to SF:MOMA. it had been a while since i had time to actually go to a museum so it was great to spend some time just looking at the displays. i was really impressed by what they had to offer: yves tanguay, max ernst, jackson pollock… all artists that i got to know and love while in venice. they were also hosting an installation by matthew barney focusing on his newest venture, drawing restraint. KP’s not a fan of barney. i wouldn’t say that i am either though i certainly respect him and his creativity. the cremaster series were pretty brilliant but i’m not as enthused by this latest work. anyway, if you’re in the SF area and do love him, go see this soon as i believe it won’t be around much longer.

on saturday, we flew home. so the trip is over! boo hoo. i want to go on vacation again!

let me catch you up on my latest knitting projects.

• kyoto: the top is all sewn up so now i just have to get out the contrasting yarn, wind it up and get started on picking up the stitches for the sash.
• angel socks: i’m making up the pattern as i go! but i only knit on these when i’m on the go because the baby N blanket takes precedence.
• baby N blanket: well, the log cabin is no longer. it just REALLY wasn’t working with this yarn. the nubby nature of the cotton wasn’t filling in the giant holes that were made by picking up stitches so it looked really sloppy. i decided to abandon the log cabin action and moved on to the simpler diagonal baby blanket formula with stripes. i really like how it’s turning out and i’m knitting on it furiously whenever i can. my cousin’s baby is due in about three weeks and she’s bound to go early so i’m hoping i can get this done before baby N shows his face to the world.

baby N blanket v2

in the meantime, there are also a few pictures (not many) in the carfty miscellaneous gallery of my trip to see the yarn harlot last night. it was a nice crowd but i was too tired to stick around and get my book signed. sigh. oh well, i’m sure my energy will be returning soon! the second trimester has just begun!