Sea of Stripes

I have been hard at work this weekend on the Seafoam Stripes wrap. See? Oh, you don't notice a difference?

No, really. I finished a couple inches. You don't see it? Look again. You can't tell the difference between 36 inches in length and 38 inches in length?

Well, I am sure that it is just not visible in the photograph.

So, instead of arguing (with myself, mostly) about whether or not the two inches in question is visible in photographs, I am going to talk about a past project. Behold, my Fiesta socks. One of the first pairs of socks I ever finished. I am wearing them now, because my feet are cold on this rainy November Sunday, but I have never liked them. First, they were done with a basic stockinette sock pattern. I obviously made the socks waaaay too big, because they have a tendency to sag and slump around my ankles. Ditto for the bottom on my foot. I am also not wild about the pattern. It only took another pair or two for me to arrive at the realization that I don't like busy patterned socks. Nothing wrong with them, just not my cup of tea. I prefer more subtle, understated variations of color on my socks. And preferably those that actually fit my foot. I made the socks, and my foot was attached to the bottom of my ankle for the whole process, so I really have no excuse for not getting the size right.

You have to love blogs. Where else can you publically display your personal failures?

Today, it is all about the failure, er, I mean learning experiences.

Cables and Punishment

I have been working on my as yet unnamed cabled fingerless mittens, and have hit a glitch. Maybe it isn't visible in the photograph, but there is a GLARING error about halfway through the motif. I don't mean that I crossed a cable the wrong way, miscounted stitches, or something like that. I mean that the entire row is wrong. It is like I mixed up my knits and purls.

I tried not to get dismayed, since this was a learning piece, never having attempted cabling before. And I learned. I was cocky. I didn't mark the chart with a postie note. I thought that it wasn't that large, I was working in relatively large blocks of time at a sitting, and I could just look at my work and know which row I was on. Perhaps not the best plan, in hindsight. Did I mention the glaring error in the middle of the motif? It is entirely possible that I did the wrong row on the chart.

So, I am left with a dilemna. I am almost finished with this mitten, but there is no way that I can wear it as is. That row would mock me on a daily basis, standing out with neon lights pointing at it, reminding me of my overconfidence. So, I have been trying to decide if I should just rip down to the start of the cables, or finish it and put it (with a mate) in the charity box.

Don't laugh, but I conducted a poll. Five out of five non-knitter couldn't even see the mistake, even when I pointed it out to them, pactically using charts and graphs. I think a knitter would instantly zero in on my glaring error, but apparently it is invisible to the muggles. This mitten is looking like it is charity bound, with the hope that it won't end up on the hands of a knitter who would notice. I can make the real pair after. I have plenty of wool. (Famous last words?)

So the real question is. . . . do I try to make the second charity mitten with the same error?

The learning has been good with this project. I am getting down the whole cabling concept, about 3/4 through the motiof, the concept behind the chart symbols tickled my brain, so I don't have to look at the instruction key with every cable. I feel that after I am finished with the second one, I will be able to say with confidence (coupled with appropriate humility) that I have successfully learned basic cabling.

Today, it is all about the learning.

Swatching doesn't count

I wasn't starting anything new. Honest. I have four socks and one wrap in progress. And that doesn't count the UFO basket that I don't admit to my husband that I have. I was just making a swatch. Swatching doesn't count. Really, I was just. . . . testing the needles. If you don't take them out for a drive once in a while, the tires crack, the battery goes dead, and the oil congeals in the drip pan. Honest!

Resistance is futile

I have been battling knitting ennui recently. I tried to fight it by starting those new cabled fingerless mittens, but became quickly bored by the wrist ribbing. Which didn't stop form me continuing, since I was equally bored with everything else I am working on. At least that was a newer project, instead of the sagging center of everything else. Second Pomotomus sock, Second Mother's Ribbed Sock, Second Pretty Petticoat, and the halfway point of Seafoam Stripes. I am in the middle of everything!

I started thinking that maybe I just needed some instant knit gratification. You know, a thicker than sock yarn project to make me see some speedy results and smile at my quick-moving project. I thought about resurrecting a too-long-neglected sweater that only needs sleeves, but oh no, I started thinking about yarns in my stash, and new ideas (or at least recycling old ones). Must. Resist. Finish current projects.

Then someone at sock club yesterday afternoon mentioned that she had 34 active projects (including two crochets) on the needles these days. So, really, I am far below her, and am probably screwing up the bell curve, right? I should cast on something new just to make her feel better, right? Right???? I brought some yarn home from it storage at the office, just in case. (You know, since I was downtown anyway for Sock club.) We will see what happens with dawn's early light today.

My sweetie finally finished the shed. It still needs inside work, shelves, etc, but we have started moving things inside. I am under the impression that this will somehow create more room in the house for my knitting stuff to return from its exile, but that hasn't happened yet. In fact, I am receiving lectures about not putting a lot of *expletive deleted* in the shed. Why is it that his stuff is shed-worthy, and my stuff is *expletive deleted*? A question to ponder.

Today, it is all about the ennui rehabilitation.

When the going gets boring

. . . the bored start something new. I have been working on the same three knitting projects for, well, it seems about forever, and I am starting to get a little bored with them. I need some instant gratification knitting! So I started this last night. Fingerless mittens. There will be a cool intricate cable on the back of the hand (my first cabling attempt), but for now, I am just ribbing.

I am bored with it already. Sigh.

And I even had time to knit

This was not a good week. It was a cumulative effect. Money tightness, mixed with rental issues, with a dash of work piles, topped with not enough hours in each day, and baked for one hour at 350 degrees. It was even that time of the month, making me more emotional and less able to deal. When I realized I had knit a grand total of two rows in four days (about 200 stitches), I added that to my list of complaints.

But I am feeling much better today. Hormones have stabilized. Paycheck deposited (not a permanent solution, but comfort for the day). Money borrowed to cover rental repairs (also not a permanent solution, but it will get me through until I can sue the little puke that did over $3,000 damages in six short months). A desk day made a gaping hole in the stacks on my desk. And I even had time to knit.

I zipped through a good 15 rows of the Seafoam Stripes wrap at the Legion last night. We probably would have left earlier, but Friday night's band did a few songs after setting up and soundchecking, and we stayed longer to listen. I figured I was about halfway finished. A wrap, of course, is whatever length you want, and I had been thinking along the lines of six foot. You know, long enough to wrap around my back and dangle in front of my arms. I measured this morning. 34 inches complete. Damn, I am good.

And in case I ever start to doubt the existance of a omnipotent, benevolant God, I was the unexpected beneficiary of two free tickets to Purdue football tomorrow. Thank you, God, I needed that. Nice way for my sweetie and I to celebrate six months of wedded bliss. Life is good. For today, at least.

Today, it is all about the good.

The Incredible Growing Sock

I don't know how this happens. One night I am measuring the foot, thinking I have another inch to get to the toe decrease. Knit a few rows. Measure. Knit a few rows. Measure. Knit a few rows. Then suddenly, I am an inch over where I needed to decrease. How does this happen? Does the sock grow at night? Do my rows squinch together in my hands, and stretch later? Am I knitting faster than the speed of light? Am I that incapable of reading a measuring tape? Excuse me while I frog back several rows and decrease a toe. Sigh.

Today, it is all about the extra inches.