Monday, April 14, 2008

Second Sock Indecision



I call this project THE SOCK OF EXTREME ANGST. The yarn was a gift of friendship and I loved it so that I decided to make my first pair of "just-for-me" socks. My daughters each have at least one pair of hand knit socks and I thought it was my turn.

Though it seems like I have been working on these FOREVER, they were actually started just after the New Year. From the beginning, I had a series of mishaps. First I swatched and started knitting on size 1s but didn't like how it was turning out so I frogged it, and went down to size 0s. Ok, no problem... right? Wrong! I forgot to swatch again on the smaller needles so the sock was too small. Fortunately, I was only about an inch into the cuff when I figured this out. Rippit, rippit! Still ignoring the need to swatch again, I cast on more stitches and went for it... This time I was up to the gusset when I realized that the sock was way TOO BIG! Rippit, rippit!

Finally, I swatched and started yet again. The yarn was starting to look a little sad and abused but I charged through because by this point my frustration was at a critical level.

About this time, I had a major disagreement with the lady who runs a local knitting group, of which I had been a member for about a year. I refused to be bullied so I prepared to make my exit from that group. For the very first time in my life, a hobby was causing me a great deal of stress but I would not give up...

The sock you see here still seems a little large, especially in the heel. I have not Kitchener stiched it closed. My gauge is fine, I simply picked the wrong size. I think I may actually be in between sizes and if I sat down with all of the numbers could write up my own variation of the recipe.

Now comes the indecision... Do I knit the second sock to match the first? Do I knit a slightly smaller sock with a slightly shorter cuff in an attempt to get two more socks out of the yarn I have left? Do I put the whole thing away and look through my sock yarn stash for a change of scenery, maybe cast on a different pattern in a different yarn? For now, I think I will sleep on it...

BTW, I am now part of another local crafting group which has a completely different vibe to it, it is very refreshing (and inspirational)...

Sunday, April 13, 2008

FO: Hand Warmers :)

IMG_1466
Wow, it seems like forever since I actually finished something! I call these "Warm Simplicity" as I made them up as I went along. The yarn was a gift from my secret pal :)

My crafting group is currently running a secret pal swap and I must say that I am quite enjoying it!

Ok, now back to this project... A bit of crochet, in a bulky weight acrylic/wool blend made in Turkey by Premier Picasso. I used a little less than 50 grams (60 yards) on a size K (6.5 mm) hook. They fit nicely and are WARM!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Balance? More or Less...

I'm still streamlining my online endeavors so that I can properly ration my time while maximizing my creativity. My Ravelry groups are back down to 32 in number, which still sounds like a lot, doesn't it? As much as I adore knitting and crochet there are other facets of my creative life I need to spend more time working on, specifically, writing. Fortunately, there is an active writing group in my area which participates in the annual NaNoWriMo! I think I will be signing up soon :)