One Down on the Nemesis Socks

Making this sock has been quite the adventure.  In particular it used a technique I was not at all familiar with.  I'd only ever done a traditional heel flap once, and that was quite some time ago.  My first pair of socks was one of my earlier projects, and I hated picking up stitches so much that I looked for every excuse to never do it again.  However, with this sock, I was determined I was going to do it, if for no other reason than the pattern extends down the heel, and for once I was going to knit the sock directly as prescribed.

So here I was, knitting away down the flap when I got to the heel turn.  I noticed something really neat when I got there.  I didn't really see "watermelon" in the way my sister did while I was knitting these up, not until the heel turn.  Then it jumped out at me.  I really loved watching the way the colors pooled and the way the turn of the heel showed the colors so expressively.  The colors completely just popped, looking so much like watermelon on the rind.  The only thing it really lacked was flecks of black to be the seeds.

The heel turn itself was enjoyable.  I forgot how much I enjoyed watching knitting actually bend and form to take a physical shape.  It's not like sewing, where you have to stitch the fabric together to take the right shape.  In the case of knitting, the fabric is simply created with the right architecture.  This isn't nearly as interesting for a hat or a shawl where the shapes are pretty simplistic, but with a sock, you're now creating something with the obvious shape of a foot.  There are no seems, in spite of this complete bend to accommodate for a foot.  It's different with a traditional flap heel.  With all my short row heels it looks too commercial, too normal, but in the case of a flap heel, this is a look you only get with a handknit sock.

It wasn't long before I'd worked through the heel and the gusset.  There was something about knitting that section, watching the colors pool in ways they hadn't done throughout the rest of the sock, it just inspired me to keep going.  The heel almost seemed to have it's own coloration, it's own life as a part of the sock.  I kept going with row after row, just to see how long it would take the color splash to get back to the way it was for so much of the rest of the sock.

By the time I was done with the gusset, I was almost done with the sock.  I knew it wouldn't take me much longer to finish it through, so I started to really focus.  My early sock knitting was done while watching Penny Dreadful, then was disappointed when I finished the series while working on the sock.  I knitted while watching part of Sense8, and now I'm out of shows for the second sock, at least shows that I had been looking forward to watching.  They have to be something particular, something I can watch without necessarily watching.  I can't knit without having something in the background, not unless it's complex and needs all my attention.  I think I've just become too used to multitasking.

Now that the first sock is done, I'm really pleased with the outcome.  It's not a sock I would particularly knit for myself.  The colors aren't something I would particularly choose, and the pattern through the heel looks as though it may not be as snug of a fit as I would prefer, but I'm glad I knit them up.  I've already been asked to knit another pair in a men's size and a less feminine color.  Obviously that means these socks are a hit.  I might consider making some up for my daughter at some point.  I think she would like them, and her feet are big enough that she can get away with most adult sizes.  I know that these would last a while on her.

The best part about this, aside from getting to explore something I wouldn't necessarily do for myself, is that I get to share the joy of lovely handknit goods with someone else, someone who doesn't knit their own socks.  It's something I can do to share the joy I get out of those sorts of knits with someone I know will truly love them.  In a way, I guess this is my attempt to convert the world to handknit goods, and to show just how much better they are than store bought goods.  Sure, cheap, manufactured socks cost less in the short run, and they're so much quicker to make, but nothing beats the feel of socks such as these on your feet.  They last longer than any of the store bought socks I've ever owned.  They stand up to a beating.  Best of all, they're so much warmer in the winter because they're made with high quality wool, rather than the scratchy stuff you can get in stores or the cheap stuff you find that's mostly acrylic.  These are truly a gift of warmth, comfort, and happiness.

Another Pair Down and Project for My Nemesis

This has been a rather productive week for me, and it's only just begun!  It all started with finishing the pair of Snuggle Paw Warmers for Sable.  Those worked up quicker than I remember them being.  I guess the pattern has just become so intuitive that I can whip them out like nothing.  They seem to fly off my needles almost as soon as I cast them on.

I have to admit, this isn't my personal choice in yarn, but they didn't turn out too badly.  The only problem is the photos don't really seem true to color no matter what I do.  They're not quite so peacock in color and are a lot more ruddy.  But the important part is that Sable is happy with them.  Above all else, that's what matters, right?  And I'm not disappointed in the outcome either. They aren't my taste, but that's because I prefer solid colors and kettle dyed yarns that allow the pattern to speak, or simple patterns that really allow the yarn to speak.  For handpainted yarns like this, I tend to gravitate towards a lace pattern, if I use anything, because that allows the pattern and the colors to really pop together in a way that's unique.  Even so, it's not a bad combination in this case.  It's not my style, but I do kind of like it.  I'm glad I was able to step outside my own boundaries in color preference to do something that I wouldn't normally do.

That's how I'm feeling with the socks for my sister.  To me the color and the pattern together are rather loud.  I'm not all for loud things and originally wanted to do a simpler pattern that would allow the yarn to speak for itself, but my sister said if I'm going to do it, I might as well go all the way, right?  This is how I ended up knitting socks that are a loud color with a pattern.  The pattern isn't as bold as I originally wanted, but I think it's going to suit her just fine.  Besides, there's the comedy in knitting "Nemesis" socks for my sister.  I think the whole concept is very appropriate, even if I don't love the color and pattern combination.  Actually, in this case I don't think it's that bad.  The subtle ribbed pattern works really well with the yarn she selected.  It's really kind of a nice combination, in spite of my resistance to making something so incredibly bold.  Additionally, it's a simple enough pattern that it doesn't seem too loud when paired with the yarn.  It's almost complimentary, even though a plain colored sock would show that pattern a lot more effectively.  It's starting to grow on me in an odd sort of way.  I never expected anything like this ever would.

The pattern is so simple, in a way, that I'm able to really dig in and enjoy things while knitting.  In this case I've been watching Penny Dreadful while knitting.  It's meant I've gotten a lot of the project done in relative quick time.  I'm surprisingly already most of the way to the heel turn.  I'd considered doing an alternative heel, but I think I want to stick with the standard heel flap.  The pattern continues all the way down the back of the heel, which I think will make the sock look more interesting.  I like my short row heels and afterthought heels, but there's something about doing the pattern as prescribed that just seems right.  It's been a while since I've done exactly that, so I think it might be time I tried it again.  Besides, I haven't knit a traditional heel in years.  It would be fun to do one as an alternative to what I always do.  There's something really enjoyable about going back and doing something different.  I get so set in my ways with things like socks that I sometimes forget that there is an option other than my standard go-to.  It also provides a different challenge, something I haven't had in a while.  I'm not exactly up to doing lace shawls or anything at the moment, so having a project like this to offer me a challenge seems just about the right pace.

New Projects for People!

Now that I'm back in the swing of things with knitting, it's time to start some new projects again.  I've got a lot of work to do before the holiday season comes and I want to make sure I've got enough knits for everyone for Christmas this year.  I think my kids will likely not be getting anything because they always lose them, and they seem to grow just too quickly for it to matter, but I have other people who have been asking me for knits, so I have something to focus on.  My kids may not get knits, but at least someone will, and that's keeping me motivated.

The first new project I cast on was a pair of socks for my sister.  She picked out this pink and green yarn that was just so lovely.  It certainly wasn't my choice in colors, but it totally suited her.  The whole thing had to be balled by hand, which was quite a pain in the butt.  I have to admit, I can't ball yarn like normal people do.  I somehow always end up turning it into a cake.  I don't know anyone else who hand cakes their yarn, but I do it, because I'm weird like that.  This one took me all of watching Antman to wind up, as well as about an hour after that.  As always, the end turned into a disaster and I swore I would never do it again, but I'm undoubtedly going to do it again for the next skein of yarn that comes out of my bag.  But at least doing it this way gave me a chance to really think about the color of the yarn and how it would knit up.  That way I could consider if I really wanted to knit it up in the pattern I had been considering, or if I was going to do something else with the whole thing.  Thankfully, it looked like it would be a little loud for my tastes, but I think she'd enjoy it.

Getting the whole thing started up, I've got a pretty good idea of what it's going to look like.  The green isn't as loud as I wanted it to be, and it definitely makes me think "flower" and not "watermelon" like it reminds her of, but I think it would work.  I would consider making something out of this for my daughter, who absolutely loves pink.  The name of the colorway, Tulip, makes a lot of sense, though I think of red, yellow, and white when I think of tulips, not pink.  Still, it's a lovely color, and the way it's knit up through the cuff, I think my sister is going to enjoy it.  I can't wait to get a little further on it.  I've decided these are going to be Nemesis socks, because Sherlock Holmes' logic in the show Sherlock is that his brother is his arch-nemesis, so why wouldn't my sister be mine?  It seemed incredibly appropriate, and now it's all set up and ready to go on to the next step.  I'm excited to start it, but it's been pushed to the side for a little while I work on a project for my friend, Sable.  Priorities are sadly a thing I need to have when it comes to knitting, and the socks don't need to be finished until November.  I've got a little more free time to get back to that one.

In the mean time, I'm making another pair of snuggle paws!  Sable picked out this yarn and asked me to make some for her.  She's just learning to knit, so there's no way she would be ready to knit this complicated pattern herself, so I agreed, especially since the pattern is so simple and easy for me now that I can practically do it in my sleep.  I think it's a fair exchange.

This yarn is a yummy handpainted yarn.  I absolutely love it, though I'm not sure it's my kind of yarn.  I wouldn't personally choose it for this pattern myself, but she really loves it, so that's what matters most.  It really is a beautiful yarn, and it's not too bad with the pattern.  It's a bit loud for my tastes, but I think it really suits her personality, and the muted colors work well enough with the pattern and don't seem too out of place.  It gives it a neat appearance, so while it's not something I would particularly choose for me, I think it's a fantastic choice for her.  That's the fun part of knitting for someone else, I can break out of the limiting cycle for what I would knit for myself and can do something that's completely not my style.

The fun thing about this project, aside from the usual seeing it come together, I'm having fun with seeing how it looks in different lighting.  It seems like there's no way to have this project come out "true to color" because the colors seem to change depending on so mnay factors, like what light it's under.  Two pictures of the same project look totally different, just by changing the lighting.  The other picture was taken out in the sunshine.  This second picture was taken under a softer lighting in the evening, backed by my glass of wine.  I love this picture most of all because so many of the colors seem to coordinate.  The wine, the needles, and the yarn all seem complimentary to each other.  I'm going to have a lot of fun photographing these gloves when I'm done with them.  I'll probably take a dozen pictures under different lighting conditions, just to see what happens.  Lighting can make all the difference with things like this.  I just hope I can get one really good one where the yarn actually shows up the way it does to my eye in the real world. We'll see.  Hopefully I can fidget with it enough and it will all work out.

But at least the first one is down, so that's a start.  It took just over 24 hours, with some significant breaks and stuff like sleep to get it knocked out, which is much faster than I'd thought it would be.  I didn't anticipate getting it all knocked out quite so quickly.  It should take me no time at all (provided I can spend some serious, dedicated knitting time) to get the next one knocked out too!  Then I can get back to knitting up my sister's socks and hopefully I can slap together something for myself before the weather turns too badly.  That would be lovely.

With one project down for this summer and another fast on it's heels, I can't help but be pleased with the progress I'm making.  Maybe now I can stay motivated and get things done.  I've got a lot of knitting I want to do as the weather starts to turn, possibly even a sweater, if I get ambitious enough. This year may just be the year!  Just as long as I keep on knitting and don't let myself get lazy after a few short victories in knitting up some small, quick projects.

Finally Finished Another Pair

It's been a few months, but I'm back in the game.  I'm knitting like crazy and getting things done.  I've got a few in the works that have thoroughly been ignored, but I'm getting back on my knitting game.  I don't know what it is about heading into the end of summer.  It always makes me more productive and want to knit!  Maybe it's because I know the cold months are coming.

So what have I been working on?  I spent a lot of time working on the gloves I made from the yarn I got with my mom at the fiber festival at the farmer's market.  I had no idea there was even going to be a fiber festival that weekend, so I'm glad she was there to enjoy it too.  I'm now making socks for my sister and my mom out of some fantastic yarn I got there, but more on that later.  In the mean time, I'm so happy with the way these gloves look.  I adore the yarn.  It's so incredibly soft and the color is such a perfect denim color.  That makes me so happy.  Because of the color, I can easily wear these with so much of my wardrobe come fall, and it will look perfectly in place.  They match the only pair of jeans I seem to still have which is even better.  I've got a real thing for when my clothing coordinates like that.  It just makes me so incredibly happy.  The color, the texture, everything is just perfect for my wardrobe.  They were so soft and nice to work up in my hands on top of everything else that I just couldn't wait to have them in my hands.  At the same time, I was so sad because I was done knitting them and there was nothing left to do!  Favorite project ever!

These gloves have been a huge source of happiness for me.  Not only do they show off the pattern I absolutely love to make, but they're perfectly gushy and the color is amazing.  They're something that has me excited for cool weather to hit because they're so perfectly beautiful.  I can't wait to see them in practical, daily use along with my other cool weather gear.  Because of the fit, I could probably get away with wearing a light pair of gloves under them for added warmth when the weather gets really cold too.  My last pair were somehow a little too snug for that, and being a pretty spiced pumpkin orange, that really didn't go with everything quite so well as these.  At the end of it all, I think these ones will be so much more practical and will carry me through the weather quite well.  These are something that will do me well through school too, since I can wear them in class while taking notes.  That's going to make all the difference because some of those classrooms can be so cold.  The building isn't fantastically insulated so the place has cold spots and warm spots everywhere.  I like to sit by the windows, so that means I get all the draft.

Of course, I can't keep from taking artsy pictures of my projects.  There's something about knitting in sunlight that always appeals to me, especially where there are interesting shadows.  This kind of brings my hobbies together.  Photography and knitting go well together.  Now if only I could make photography, knitting, and cooking or music together, but it's not easy to play music or cook while knitting.  In the case of cooking, that could get quite messy.  In the case of music, I could definitely get tangled pretty easily.  Guitar and knitting at the same time would require four hands and I'm not that kind of special mutant.

I love the way this is bringing things in my life together.  This is bringing people in my life together as a crafter friend of mine has asked me to make her a pair.  Now I've gotten her into knitting too!  We've been knitting together this weekend.  To think all of this is coming about because I happened to make a pattern that now everyone loves!  I'm so excited to see what comes of all of this in the end.  Maybe I need to see about starting a fiber guild at school.  That would be fun!  Okay, maybe not, but the idea is lovely either way.  At least for now I have my own little crafting community.

A Not Terribly Productive Month...for Crafting, At Least

November was a pathetic month for crafting.  Between moving, NaNo, and everything else, I've been a busy, busy person.  Not to mention when you move with kids you have to change schools and all of that kind of crazy stuff.  It's been chaotic, but that's not surprising at all, I'm sure.  However, in the past month of limbo, I have had a few things that I got done.  First and foremost!

Yup, that's right, I'm a winner this year!  That's my biggest accomplishment of the season.  I'm pretty proud of myself for it.  I have a long road before publication with editing and the like, but I was able to accomplish it in spite of everything else going on.  That alone is worth some serious patting myself on the back.  That makes two years in a row.

In addition, I also finished a pair of socks for my second child.  He's thrilled with them, and they're ready in time for Christmas.  That was a minor miracle.  For some reason he's got odd shaped feet.  The measurement across his heel is rather odd so what seemed like it should fit really didn't.  On top of that, I didn't want anything that would take much effort, given the way he wears through socks.  I know they're a future darning project, so I didn't want anything it would hurt too much if it got killed.  As a result, I've ended with a pair of socks I think I'm happy with for him.  This isn't the finished photo (because that didn't come off as nicely as I would have liked, but it's a beauty.

I'm finding I really like the Knit Picks yarns.  This one, as the other ones were, was wonderful to work with.  I just wish I could get my hands on more.  I didn't think I'd like the way the twisted yarn came out, but I surprisingly like this.  It worked out much nicer than I'd imagined, which definitely pleases me.  It definitely wouldn't be a yarn I'd use with anything with a serious texture, but it works out alright for a mostly vanilla sock.  This is another version of the MineCraft Socks.

Though it was after the November 30th cut off I'd given myself, I did manage to finish the socks for Bunny Boo too.  That was definitely an accomplishment.  I'd lost motivation and was tired by the time I got to hers.  On top of that, her feet are almost as big as mine!  She's only about a half inch shorter in the foot.  That means I'm effectively knitting an adult sock for her, which seems to take so much longer than the socks for the other kids, even though each size up isn't all that much more work.  Crazy how that works, right?

Apparently hers are in a colorway that's majorly sought after.  It's called Gummy Bear, though it much more makes me think of Care Bears.  She loves it, and that's what matters.  It was hard to stick to my guns on this one when people started contacting me for the yarn, with very good projects lined up for it.  I felt a little bad when I decided I had to honor my promise and keep it for my daughter.  However, the socks turned out great, knit up in the ever popular Hermione's Everyday Socks pattern.  I'd been avoiding this pattern because it's so overly used.  I hate doing what everyone else is doing and prefer to call attention to some lesser used patterns, but with self striping yarns, there aren't a lot of options.  I decided to go with something not quite vanilla, and my daughter loves Hermione from Harry Potter, so double win on that one.  I'm not a fan of vanilla socks, mostly because I want something I have to pay a little attention to.  However, I'm finding that simple socks are kind of appealing to me.  It's something I can knit away at without having to put all of my mind to it.  I can just kick back and enjoy, with enough interest to keep me working away at it.

Next up?  Socks for me.  Everyone else has gotten new socks for Christmas, so I'm knitting myself something enjoyable for the season.  My excuse is I need warm feet just like the rest of us!

So Very Busy

A Minion, Madeline Hatter, Ash, and Rainbow Butterfly Princess

Man, it's been a crazy week!  Last weekend was Halloween, which was a blast.  We went trick-or-treating at a friend's house this year, which worked out incredibly well.  The kids all looked great!  But it was colder than they expected it to be.  It wasn't a huge haul of candy, but I'm okay with that.  A mountain of candy is fun, but with moving and everything, it's so much better to have an amount that can be gone before we've got to move it to a new house.

Next year I hope to get even more creative with it.  I'd love to get to the point where I can make all the costumes for the kids.  That would be exciting.  I remember my mom making costumes for my sister and me.  It was always the best part of the year, picking out the patterns and watching them come together.  It was so much better than shopping for a costume from a store.  I've always missed that part of the holiday, but time and energy have really kind of gotten in the way, especially with four kids!  That's a lot of costumes to make!

Over Halloween weekend I did a lot of knitting, and pretty much anything to distract from the writing I should be doing.  I knit in the car on Halloween.  The next day I sat down and focused as much as I could between shopping for the new apartment and trying to get the house organized.  It was crazy chaotic.  All of this moving stuff has me run ragged.  It feels like I have no time for anything else!

And that second sock was no dream.  I kept making silly mistakes, like using the wrong decrease for half of the heel.  I had to go back and fix it.  It was going to drive me nuts if I didn't.  There were so many parts of that sock I swear I went back and fixed two or three times, which was funny because the first sock went together like nothing, aside from the endless rows at the end.  The second sock was complication after complication.  I was so proud of myself when I finally got past the heel and was able to move on to the next phase of the sock.  In comparison to the rest of it, the leg and cuff I could practically knit in my sleep.  It was easy and relaxing, even with all the crazy going on in my life.  That was exactly what I needed.  I honestly think that may have been what caused me all the troubles before, settling in and viewing it as easy, relaxing knitting.  I lost focus and made silly mistakes.

Over the weekend I wanted to check out best buy, look at options for games for the kids.  I found some great ones, but I also found a new Yoshi game for the Wii U.  It was awesome.  It was epic!  It involved yarn!!!

Of course, most of this stuff looks crocheted, not knit, but it's still super cute.  I'd never before seen a game so tailored to me!  You know what I want for Christmas, don't you?  Yup, my mind has been made up.

Then again, gaming would take away from my knitting time, and would cut into my writing time.  That's a challenge I really don't want to face right now.  I've got enough on my plate.  Still, there's nothing wrong with dreaming of the perfect life, one where all of my games are made with woolly goodness!  I think I would be in heaven at the perfect unification of my geek life and my crafty life.  I think that's a fantastic blend right there.  I could play that game for hours!  At least until I realized it was just a regular Yoshi game, and therefore still incredibly frustrating to me, but it would take longer because of all the cool yarn stuff.  It's a brilliant idea!

And finally, just today, I finished that pair of socks.  I still have two more pairs to knit, even in the middle of this insane move.  I'm not sure I'm going to get it done in time.  I may need to rethink this plan, or to leave lovely notes.  It's just to my kids, who know how hard I've been working this season to get everything done.  It's positively exhausting!  I'm even considering blowing off writing so I can crawl into bed early.  I'm completely wiped.

To think, I've got all of Christmas in front of me still.  As hard as it's going to be, I'm going to have to survive the Christmas season.  That means family events, Christmas lights and the whole nine yards.  I think I might  just drop before Thanksgiving and stay down until well after the new year has begun!  It definitely more suits my speed these days!

Well, That Went Not Quite As Planned

The first Time Traveler sock is done!  I was so excited as I bound it off that I had my son (who was 99% ready for school) take his shoe and sock off to try it on.  The result?  Failure.  His foot won't fit.  He can't get them past the heel.  I've got the gauge right, the measurements right.  The sock fits wonderfully on the foot, but the heel just causes a problem.  I forgot that while his midfoot is a normal size for his age, just like me, he has a problem with a really high instep and an unusually large measure around the heel.  It was tragic.  I began to go through my head to figure out how I could get it to be the right size.  The conclusion?

The socks are awesome, but they're not enough to get him excited.  As you can see, all was not lost.  His brother now gets a pair of new socks that somehow fit him perfectly (no idea how that worked out!) and I'm now casting on the second sock.  It's not terribly far along and certainly won't be done before the end of Halloween unless I knit like a beast, and since I'm moving, ,that's not going to happen.  Still, I'll have one boy happy to wear them all year round.  I know the next one up will love them too.  Is it wrong that I've got no problems with handing down socks?  They steal each other's socks all the time.  I'm creeped out by doing that with underwear though (even though, little secret?  My sister and I shared all our socks and underwear when I was a kid...)

And just in case you were wondering how I'm able to enjoy a movie with my kids while knitting?  Well, apparently you have no need to fear!  Little Bear has made sure I can enjoy all the proper fun of a movie while knitting.  The story is retold in exhausting detail (in case I missed anything by counting or looking at charts).  I even get popcorn hand fed into my mouth so I won't get the yarn buttery.  Who wouldn't enjoy a deal like that!  It's too funny because I put my knitting down once I was done with the heel turn and I was told I couldn't eat it myself.  I had to keep on knitting!  No, that one's not addicted to knits, not my Little Bear!  We thoroughly enjoyed it.  I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, and don't eat too much candy!  I'll be enjoying it myself, after some moving.  It feels good to be getting stuff in the new house!  Finally home!