How to Take Five Years to Knit a Pair of Socks

1. October, 2003: Need project to pass time at home after new baby arrives. Buy yarn and divide into two equal balls--one for each sock.

2. October, 2003: Begin first sock. With two inches until ending with the toe, run out of yarn. Throw in knitting basket for several months.

3. May, 2004: Rip out almost entire sock including a little more than 2" from the cuff. Finish knitting sock down to toes (very slowly--no need to rush the five-year socks, after all).

4. June, 2004: Forget how to do kitchener stitch, throw back in knitting basket with only toe left to close.

5. January, 2005: Realize you need the size 3 needles currently sitting on the sock. Transfer stitches to holder (or in my case, twist ties for the garbage bags). Throw back in knitting basket for one year.

6. February, 2006: Decide that this is the THE YEAR for finishing the socks. Look up kitchener, finish one sock.

7. March, 2006: Look for other ball of yarn to begin sock #2. Can't find it, place lone sock in knitting basket for several months.

8. September, 2007: Organize stash, find missing ball of yarn. Cast on and knit 1" of sock, get bored and throw back in knitting basket for several months.

9. June, 2008: Need something boring to knit at meeting. Realize child born when socks were started will start kindergarten in two months. Grab sock, work all week and FINISH seven days later.

So, it turns out I can actually knit a sock in one week if I so choose. Who would have thought?


Update: while going through my yarn stash today (a few days after writing this post), I found another skein of yarn for these socks. So, I guess I didn't really run out in the first place.

First Attempt at Altering a Pattern

I am not one of those people who can just create knitting patterns. I envy them. I need explicit instructions on what to do and when to do it, or it's likely to be a colossal failure. For me, it's like comparing actual painting to paint-by-numbers, and I'm definitely a paint-by-numbers kind of gal.

However, I found a dress pattern that I MUST make for Jordan. It's from the Yarn Girls' Guide to Kid Knits, and is featured on the front cover. I love, love, LOVE the fuzzy yarn on the hem, and I know my little girl will love it too. It's right up her alley.

So, here's what I did--let's see if it works.

I made a gauge swatch (something I NEVER do) and found out I'm knitting 3.5 stitches per inch (gauge is 4.5 stitches per inch). I measured Jordan and came up with reasonable measurements for the circumference of the hem along with her waist and chest measurements. I added some wiggle room to those (I don't want it to be tight!) and multiplied each by 3.5 to get the number of stitches at each point.

Oh, and did I mention I'm knitting this in the round rather than in two pieces? I thought it would (1) be easier--no seam stitching, and (2) look better, since I'm using variegated yarn. We'll see how the top turns out...

Back of Merry Widow Done

Here's the back of the Merry Widow Shell, unblocked (with Carmex and my Knitting Answer Book holding down the edges...):
Here's a pic of the leaf/vine detail. Unfortunately, the true color doesn't really come through in this photo--the pic above is more accurate with respect to color.

The front is fun, thanks to the point detail at the bottom. I'm hoping to make good progress on the front and have it done in a couple of weeks.

Max is Knitting!

Much to my delight, Max has asked me to teach him to knit. As soon as he gets the hang of it, I'll buy him some yellow yarn--his favorite color. He wants to make a scarf. I've blogged about it here.

Merry Widow Shell

One week down, a couple more to go...

This is a challenging design (particularly if you're unfamiliar with charts) from one of my favorite designers: Joan McGowan-Michael. It's the Merry Widow Shell from her book Knitting Lingerie Style.

I only had to rip out four or five times (ugh!) before finally getting it right. Here's what I've got so far:


It's a leaf-and-stem pattern that winds up the front and back. In the end, it will look like a corset (only not as tight).

Joan offers patterns and kits on her web site, White Lies Designs. Check it out--they're gorgeous.

Stephen's Fisherman Sweater Done!

I'm on a roll lately (which is good, because I have WAY too many things in progress). I was very happy to realize on Friday night that I could actually have it finished for Father's Day.

(This was especially fortuitous, because I had it in my head that Father's Day was NEXT weekend. At least I had something to give him...)

Here are the pieces as of Friday night. Sleeves:


Front and back:


And then, I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday doing construction. Here's the finished product:

Yippee! Nothing like a nice, new, wool sweater just in time for summer.

One of the things I love about knitting (in addition to admiring a finished project) is the memory of all the things I was doing while the knitting was going on. I look at this sweater and see the waiting room at the doctor's office (and the dentist's office, and the pediatrician's office...), chatting with friends while the kids were in Sunday school, waiting while Max played in his chess tournament, trying to figure out the stitch count on a plane after a business trip...

Time to work a new project into my bag and create some new memories.

Pink Sweater Done!

The Surplice Sweater is finally done! Here it is:


I'm really happy with how it turned out, although I still need to block it--it's a little heavy and gravity tends to make it longer throughout the day as I wear it. The lace went really quickly once the bodice was done.

Extreme Dilation

Me, after having my eyes dilated at the optometrist today:


(Note for future reference: extreme closeup + no makeup = OLD!!)

Stephen's Socks

OK, so I started these socks when Jordan was a very small baby (let's say, October 2003). It was just after I knitted a pair of socks for myself, and I was "in the groove" and wanted to make more. Unfortunately, I ran out of steam--I had about 2/3 of one sock done when I put them away for a couple of years (I know, I know...).

For a while I couldn't find the skein for sock #2, so I just avoided working on them at all. Eventually I decided to organize my stash, and found the second skein.

So, in the spring of 2007 I picked them back up and decided it was time to finish. At that point, I had already turned the heel and was working toward the toe. With three inches to go, I ran out of yarn.

UGH.

I had purchased one skein of yarn per sock and hadn't started the second yet. Clearly, the cuff was too long. I pulled out everything I had done, removing about 3.5 inches from the cuff and started over. Luckily, I got the first one done and didn't run out of yarn on the second try:


So, the second one has been started. Maybe I'll finish it by the time Jordan leaves for college.

Stephen's Fisherman's Sweater

Long time, no update. Now that I'm finally on Ravelry, I've decided to get myself organized and keep track of my projects a little better. Here's a closeup shot of Stephen's Fisherman sweater--this is the front, which is about 90% done. The back is completely finished (yay)!



And here's a wider shot of the front:


Now all I have to do is find the time to finish it.