Socks From Dragon

Looking at the brightly colored yarn that was my birthday present from my boyfriend I knew exactly what pattern I would use for the socks he wanted me to make for myself.



The colors changed so fast that I knew most patterns would produce a multicolored mess. I hoped that the pattern I had in mind would play nicely with the colors. I was thrilled to watch the stripes and columns line up as I knit through the pattern.



The interesting heel construction is a bit snug as I pull it over my heel but within seconds I find it to be one of the most comfortable socks that I've ever worn. The paired increases and decreases throughout the foot and leg create the most interesting shape but it fits like a dream. Though you know what I love the most? They're not identical but they create a picture when put together.



Pattern: Skew by Lana Holden
Yarn: Yarn Bee Walk Away Sock in Kicky
Project page: Ravelry
Modifications: None

WIP Wednesday: A Plea and Gloves

Knitting:
The chocolate socks seems stalled, perhaps permanently in this iteration. I did indeed find more yarn, ordered it, and gleefully began knitting with it. In the poorly lit room I knit it I could tell it was a little lighter but that didn't seem to be too much of a problem. The next day I took it with me to fighter practice where I could work in the sun. There I realized just how light the new yarn was. Even Lynn commented on it. He also pointed out, as I sat there contemplating, that I needed to be happy with the final result. I realized I wouldn't be happy with the color change, and I'd probably never wear the socks, so I ripped back all the new yarn and set it aside. I do have various plans for the new yarn as I 2 skeins of that and thus plenty of yarn to make a pair of socks. In my mind though, the cubes pattern, for me, really needs to be in a dark brown. You know how it is when your heart is set on something.

So ... I have a request for my friends that have knitting stores somewhat close to them. Would you be willing to call them and see if they 'happen' to have Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Chocolate, Dye Lot 6094? You can contact me via ShadowsKnits@gmail.com. I'll pay the cost for somebody to purchase the yarn and ship it to me. I'm well aware it's a last ditch hope and that it may not pan out. But I've contacted Lorna's Laces and the yarn stores here that carry it and none of them have that color. If this doesn't work then I'll pull the socks out and set the yarn aside for gloves for me or something and move on.


(The finished sock, the half done sock, the lighter yarn)

So since I can't work on that I've been working on other things that have been patiently waiting for me to have time for them. Case in point, a pair of wrist / arm warmers for myself. These are working up super fast, just a couple days for the first one to be finished.



Writing:
Fey Led - More Edits.
Thanks to Kathy and her incredible notes as well as a bit of help from Kara, I've got some really good feedback and I'm working my way through those.

National Novel Writing Month (NaNo) is coming up and at first I wasn't sure about participating this year. I was considering focusing on my editing and getting my current stories cleaned up. And then a voice pipped up in the back of my mind with a question ... so I may have an idea after all. We'll see. If nothing else I do have a fantastic background that will surely inspire me to write courtesy of  Dragon.

Reading:


World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks. I'm 'really' not a fan of zombies, honestly can't stand them. I'm a fan of cerebral horror, not the blood, guts, and gore horror. But, this was one of those books that was a big hit and I like to grab those and read them when I can. So far, and I'm about halfway through, it's not focused on the ew factor. Between the writing style, the layout, and the focus of the subject matter, it's more about the collapse of society, how it happened, and the aftermath. It makes it a story of humanity and how humans deal with everything falling apart. Certainly there is the ew factor there, as the zombies are described, but with it being a sharing of other people's stories it's not an immediate feeling with the guts shoved in your face, so to speak. I'm really enjoying this book, which is a happy surprise.

Spring Socks

I've been working a lot lately on projects for me ... in colors I wouldn't normally wear. It's been interesting.



I've always gravitated more toward dark colors, black, dark purple (purple being my favorite color), dark blue. There's a reason my Nanny used to say I looked like a walking bruise. She on the other hand looked stunning in pastels.

I remember getting dressed for Kindergarten one morning and she pulled out a pair of yellow pants. (It was the 80's, they were actually in style.) "I don't want to wear yellow." Nanny looked at me for a moment, shrugged, and told me to pick my own clothes from then on.



I think in a way these socks remind me of her, the cotton up to a bit harder treatment than a lot of wool paired with the delicate lace  and all in her beloved pastels.

I'm really glad this yarn fell into my basket and Lynn picked it out for my next project.

Pattern: Curvy Lace Socks by Kathy Wesley
Yarn: Patons Grace in Lavender
Project Page: Springy Lace Socks
Modifications: None intended

WIP Wednesday: Colorfully Skewed Socks Part 2

Knitting:
That tiny little toe I had last week? It's all done with and has been put aside for it's sibling. Between the construction and the desire to see how it affected the colors the knitting on these has just flown by.



Reading:

Dune by Frank Herbert. Progress on this hasn't been quite as fast. I'm past the halfway point and still very much in love with the story. There just needs to be more hours in a day.

Writing:
Fey Led - another round of edits. Of the 5 or 6 people that said they'd gladly read it and make editing suggestions, only 1 ever replied with anything. So, I'm going through and working with their suggestions to make things more readable.

WIP Wednesday: Colorfully Skewed Socks

Knitting:
I was happily knitting along on my chocolate socks, fairly certain that I'd finish them by Friday since I'd just started the foot on the second sock. And then the end of my yarn popped out of the bag. :( Apparently going up a needle size and losing a repeat from the leg does affect the amount of yarn used that much. *sigh* So I've hit up Ravelry to see if anybody there that has it marked as "willing to sell / trade" will reply. If you happen to have Lornas Laces Shepard Sock in Chocolate and are willing to sell, I'd be interested.

So, yesterday when I had my little yarn disappointment I was frustrated. Nothing else in my stash really appealed. I didn't want to start a new project, I wanted to finish the one I had. But picking through my stash I finally came across the yarn that Dragon bought me for my birthday last year. Seeing it made me remember the smile he had when he handed it to me. "Yarn, lots of colors, colorful socks for you." So I pulled the yarn out of stash and started a pair of Skew socks.



They shall be 'very' colorful socks,

Reading:

Dune by Frank Herbert. This would be a delightful story if I could give it more time. I've been so distracted with other things lately that I just haven't had a whole lot of time to sit and read like I'd like to. I did end up taking it to the bath with me one day just so I could relax and read. I need to get a move on though because the rest of my to read list is getting antsy. Plus I 'might' have fallen down and bought 2 more books last night ... I submit that it's not my fault since I 'had' to buy one since the author was there to sign it and since it was the second in the series I needed to get the first one as well, for completeness sake.

Writing:
Nothing just yet. But, after a good talk with a friend yesterday .. and the realization that I've let a rude, mean person stop me from something I enjoy ... I will start again. So this is a note to say that if I don't have something going in the writing section next week you should offer, and follow through, with beatings.

WIP Wednesday: Chocolate Socks

Knitting:
With my Knitting for Other People queue currently empty I'm working on a pair of socks, all for me! I picked up the yarn nearly a year ago and knew that it had to be socks for me. It's been patiently waiting in my stash for me. I grabbed it as soon as I cast off the last project I was working on.



Book:

Dune by Frank Herbert. I passed that magical point of the story were things start making sense and the new words he uses finally mean something to me. I'm getting drawn into the story more each time I sit down to read a bit. I'm very glad I stuck it out through the rough beginning.

More Piano!

After finishing the first piano scarf I was worried that nobody would buy the pattern or queue it up in Ravelry. Boy was I wrong! It's been a thrill to watch it pop up in queues or to get notification of sales. Each time is like a secret gift that randomly appears in my inbox. It's awesome!



So when Amy asked me to make her a piano scarf I was glad to do so. This time around I popped it into my bag and carried it with me if I knew I was going to be sitting somewhere for several hours.



Apparently, seeing somebody knitting in public down here isn't that common and pair that with something as large and striking as a giant black and white piano scarf and you get lots of questions. I love questions though since it gives me a chance to share a little of my passion.

Sometimes sharing a passion that's not the normal is seen as silly. But that's okay, because the people I knit for come to me to have help in sharing their passion. And in this case I'm glad to take cues from my husband, who doesn't mind being a little silly at times if it means helping somebody with what they need.



I mean, how can you not laugh at somebody doing this? And he's such a good sport, allowing me to drag him out into the sun after a long day of work and an hour drive home to drape wool around him for pictures. I'm glad he puts up with me and supports me in my passion.

Pattern: Piano Scarf
Project Page: Ravelry

WIP Wednesday: Bear Sweater

Knitting:
Mr Bear's sweater is almost done. All the parts are knit up, now I need to give a border to each one, connect all the pieces, and give it a neckline and a waist. Huh ... it sounds like a lot when I actually type it all out. *laugh* Oh well! I didn't want to give a single overall shot just yet, since it's so close to being done. So instead you get a few pictures of parts.



You may recognize some of the colors from various other projects. Dragon only wanted me to use left over yarn.



And to try lots of different things with the yarn.



Reading:

Dune by Frank Herbert. It's a little rough to get into but the story is starting to pick up and move me along. This is one of those books that I feel everybody (particularly those interested in science fiction) should read.

WIP Wednesday: Creative Freedom

Knitting:
I'm working on a sweater for a bear ... a stuffed bear. I have no direction on making said sweater, other than it is to be made completely from scraps. So, I get to play around with the color book I got last year for my birthday and try out new ideas. Currently I'm planning for the sweater to be made in pieces and seamed together, with black being the uniting factor. We'll see how that works out. So far, this is the back. I could change my mind though and do something else, or Dragon could ask for something different.



Reading:

The Dragon DelaSangre by Allan F. Troop. It's written in first person which is something I haven't read all that often. It's also a take on dragons I haven't seen anywhere else, other than in my own novel that I've been working on for several years. It's a very interesting read and you get to see the main character struggle a bit with his heritage versus how he's been raised. I'm looking forward to seeing how that spins out.

WIP Wednesday: Think Spring

Knitting:
The Piano Scarf is still in the works. It doesn't look much different from last week, other than being longer. I'm over halfway done with repeat 5 of 6 so it should be done fairly soon. So instead of showing pictures of that again I'll share my current traveling socks.



These are the socks that are worked on in the car or in line. I've about an inch left before I begin the toe. I tried them on last night and I'm thrilled to report that they fit me. *grin* I probably wouldn't have started these now but when I finished my last travel project I pointed Lynn at the stash and said pick my next project. He sifted through things a bit and came up with one of the skeins of Paton's Grace. The other skein is sitting in my purse waiting to be called for the second sock.

Reading:

Left Behind by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. I'm not sure how I feel about this one. I knew going into it that I probably wouldn't agree with parts of it but it's been sitting on the shelf for a few years now. Lynn and I collect various religious books, though generally not of this type. While cleaning out our shelves I decided to finally read the first book of the collection, particularly since we've managed to collect the first 6 or so of this series, all through free boxes of books. I don't know if reading this will change my religious views .. but at least it's readable and I'm not feeling beat about the head and shoulders with religious ideology as I have in a couple other books.

WIP Wednesday: Piano Scarf Part 2

Knitting:
The scarf grows. I've finished 2 repeats of the pattern so only 4 more to go plus an additional 8 rows. I'm not quite as far along as I'd like to be but spending the weekend with Dragon here was well worth the lost knitting time.



Reading:

A Caress of Twilight by Laurell K. Hamilton. I do love my silly romances and this one has fey of all kind in it. I've read it once before but not as part of the series, so now I'm trying to read the series in order. This, the second book in the series, is just as much fun as I remember it being.

WIP Wednesday: Piano Scarf

Knitting:
Since I have a pattern for this and I know how to juggle my yarn more effectively it's going much faster this time around. I've already finished the first repeat of 7. I should be able to get a lot done this weekend as weekends are high movie watching times for us.



Reading:

Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. I'm not sure what I expected ... but this isn't it. It's not a bad book, it's a very well told story. I suspect I simply would have appreciated it more at a different time.

Circles ... Going in Circles

I finished my travel socks! These have traveled with me to various stores, 2 seperate geeky conventions, a movie, and 3 plays, not to mention uncountable hours in lines, doctor's waiting rooms, and driving around town (I was the passenger, promise).



The second one simply flew by as I worked Space City Con and ran around helping my amazing volunteers out as they assisted patrons with directions and played tour guide a couple of times. I even managed to get the stripes to line up almost exactly!



You can tell on the heels and toes that it was a bit off but I think that's partially because on the second heel I was trying to go by memory and didn't start the turning at exactly the same spot. Either way I don't care, I think they're perfect!



I don't think I'm a huge fan of the star toe, but I had to at least try it. The heels are eye of partridge and that doesn't really bother me, though I didn't get the slightly raised diagonals I read should appear .. perhaps I did it wrong. If I do this pattern again, which is a possibility, I'll change the numbers a bit and only add one repeat at cast on, decrease a bit before doing the heel, and do a different toe. This pair though? I'm in love! 

Pattern - Circle Socks by Anne Campbell
Yarn - Knit Picks Felici in Caprica
Ravelry Project Page
Modifications - Added 16 stiches to the cast on as the original was way too tight for me.

Blue Eggs Complete

It took quite a bit longer than expected but in the end, as with most things that take effort, I think it came out gorgeous and simply amazing. Now that it's off the needles and blocked I find myself in love with it again ... though not enough to instantly cast on another one. That might have to wait just a little bit so that I can work on a couple other things first.



I am in love with the points ... and how it's so soft and wrappable and yet, the points, they stay. They don't fade back into the shawl to become lost in the pattern.



Pattern: Omelet by Joyce Fassbender
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in Celesial
Modifications: Did 6.5 repeats of chart B instead of 4.5
Project Page: Ravelry

WIP Wednesday: Eggy Edging

Knitting:
With only 10 rows left on the shawl I'm well and truly into the edge of the piece. I suspect I will get it finished this weekend (yep, along with herding cats, er volunteers at Space City Con).



Reading:

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters, with Jane Austen credited as co-author. I'm about halfway through and still just loving the story. It has amusing pictures scattered through it. Sea life grows bigger in this world with lobsters that can easily kill a man and jellyfish that find women to be a tasty treat. I'd really recommend it for anybody that enjoys whimsy in their Lovecraft ... or Lovecraft in their whimsy.

WIP Wednesday: Finish Line in Sight

Knitting: It won't be this Friday, since I have physical therapy today and a full check up with the doctor tomorrow. But I'm only a couple rows away from finishing Chart D and then just 37 rows of Chart E and I'll be binding off so I'm hoping for next Friday. I'm really thrilled with how the edge is coming along. I love the pattern that's appearing and I love that I can somewhat predict what my next stitches should be. It's so good to feel like I have a handle on the pattern again.


Reading:

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters, with Jane Austen credited as co-author. This is such a fun read! The feel of Austen has been captured and alongside it is a twist of Lovecraftian quirkiness that's delightful. I'm really looking forward to seeing where the twists take us in the story.

WIP Wednesday: Blues over the Blue

Knitting:
I skipped posting last week because I was just so frustrated with this pattern and myself. I took the shawl with us to the park to watch 4th of July festivities 2 weeks ago. After a long day of knitting I found several counting mistakes that I simply couldn't brain my way around. For the rest of the evening I worked on my travel socks. Once home I realized that I'd made mistakes so far back that there was simply no answer but to rip everything out and start over. So, by the time last Wednesday rolled around, I was just a little past where I'd previously been the week before.

This Monday I finally gave into my feeling of "there's something not right about this" and counted my stitches. I'd just finished 6 repeats of chart b and a full chart c. I know I'm not the only one to occasionally ignore the inner knitter when something doesn't feel right, even the Yarn Harlot has posted about it. I'd had that niggling feeling since repeat 2 of chart b and yet I'd kept on going. So I give in and count my stitches. 155. Wait ... what? The pattern says that if I did 4.5 repeats of B then I should have 269 stitches and I did 6.5 repeats.  

I'm looking at the pattern, at the charts, at my knitting and slowly I realize my mistake. I'd read each line of the chart (with it's repeated block in the center of each line) as though it went all the way across the row rather than as what to do with the stitches in each of the 4 sections of the shawl. That explained why the outer sides had grown and the two inner sections hadn't. That explained why I wasn't using the yardage I'd expected to use.

Gods bless my poor Husband. He held me, offered me chocolate, and helped to unravel all my hard work and wind it back into a ball. Had this been for myself I would have tossed it into a corner, buried it under yarn, and never spoken of it again until I was ready to deal with it.

The pattern really isn't that hard. I don't want to scare off anybody that's kind of looked at the pattern and thought about knitting it. It's really not that hard. I promise. The reason it's been so difficult for me? I started this in a time of high stress and new medication for pain management, the two combined meant that I didn't eat for practically 3 weeks and I was so brain fogged that I couldn't think straight. I'd been clearer when I started the pattern the second time but I just kind of blindly followed what I'd done previously, thinking that I'd just lost count somewhere along the way. I probably had ... I would have been hard pressed to tell you my name a few of those days.  So, here I am, 3 weeks later, basically exactly where I was before. I'm going to knit my fingers to the bone to get this finished soon as I feel bad about it taking so long when I know it's been eagerly looked for.



The purple line marks the end of Chart A. Previously I did a lifeline for the end of each Chart B repeat .... I think I'll do every other one this time. Please ..... if you see a mistake in the knitting now ... Tell Me. Be gentle though.

Reading:

Stephen King's The Dark Tower Graphic Novel: The Fall of Gilead as written by Peter David. I am a huge Stephen King fan girl. I've been collecting these for a bit now and waiting to read them. Because of their location on the shelves I seemed to always miss them so I started keeping a To Read List that held only the next 4 - 6 books I was going to read. Each of these graphic novels have only taken a couple days to read. I'm in awe of the gorgeous coloring of the art, the fantastically done writing, and the faithfulness to the feel of the original works. I would have loved them for being a part of the Dark Tower world, but it's a delight to also love them for being so incredibly good.

Gloves to Match

The pattern for these gloves are my default pattern, at least that's how it looks after I've made it 7 times. It's just such a great pattern, a fast knit and something I can easily make larger. They can either be ribbed all the way up or not, have multiple colors or not, and have longer or shorter fingers. I had hoped to do a bit of colorwork on the cuffs to make it look like piano keys but the yarn type just wasn't having it. I'll have to try it again with a different type of yarn at some point. 

Pattern Page: Ravelry

WIP Wednesday: Blue Shawl

Reading:

Ganymede by Cherie Priest. I've been really enjoying the Clockwork Century books and the world they're set in. My 'only' problem with them is the referencing of people from Texas as "Texian(s)". I've always heard people of Texas labeled as "Texan". I know there was an Texan army during the time of the Alamo and Civil War that was called the Texians, so I think that's where it's coming from as most of the people in the books we meet from Texas are military. All in all I can deal, it's just a little jarring at times. And really, that's the only nit I have with the stories, everything else has been an incredibly fun read.

Knitting:
It's grown so much! I think this'll be the last spread out on the needles picture I have since it was barely on the needles this time. I almost have 3 of the 4.5 repeats of chart B completed ... and I think I need to add a couple repeats to that for size. I'm looking forward to new charts though, and seeing a new pattern develop in the lace. 

WIP Wednesday: Blue Eggs

Reading:

Ganymede by Cherie Priest. I'm only a couple of chapters into this one but I'm already enjoying it. There's been new characters added and a glimpse of some old ones that we didn't get to see as much of in older books in the series. I'm sure it's going to be a fun read, just like the others have been.

Knitting:
The first time I started this pattern I got to Row 3 of Chart B and then became convinced that I had a counting issue. This is standard since I numbers and I aren't exactly best buds. So I ripped the row back and started over. That changed nothing. I ripped back to the last row of Chart A since I 'knew' that one was correct, nope. I counted and recounted my stitches ... that didn't give any insights. I even slid stitches over as I verbally worked through the pattern, no change.

Sighing in defeat I ripped it all out and started over since by then I'd convinced myself that I didn't really like the density of the yarn and went up a needle size, plus my 4 has a smoother join than my 3. Two days later I was back to Chart B. Huh .. I hadn't had a counting problem, it just looked different than I expected. Last night when I finally reached  row 7 I did have a counting problem. (I should probably not knit as much when I'm tired.) Soon the end of the shawl looked like this:



And 40 long minutes later .....



After that though it went to time out while I took a break.