The Caffeine Dumps, Flying Yarn and Hot Fridges

And here are the fruits of my labor in various stages of skeining. Sometimes the yarn is so pretty, it just breaks my heart to send it away. A rocking chair full of yarn is one of those simple pleasures of life......

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This week has been a flurry of activity. Last week was too, but it wasn't good activity. It's the kind of activity where you feel like you're running 90 miles an hour just to spin your wheels while someone beats you over the head with a two by four. Let's just say that I never want to repeat last week ever again. It wasn't wholesale tragedy or anything like that. Just entirely unpleasant and inconvenient and lots of stressors coming one right after another. The last hurrah of the previous week was the refrigerator deciding it didn't want to work. It had been a little warm on the door, but then cooled back down one day last week so I just assumed one of the girlies held the door open too long. Sunday morning we woke up to find any open dairy item soured. So we loaded all our food into our big camping cooler and stuck it on our deck in the snow and frigid air. Despite the inconvenience of having to make multiple trips out to the deck for any refrigerated item we were doing pretty well. Called a couple of repair places and discovered no one could get here until Wednesday. Grrr, but at least the food is OK in the cooler. Forecast is for cold temps, so we should be OK. The very good repair man comes Wednesday and identifies what we need but has to order it. So more deck food until midday on Friday (yesterday! No fridge for 5 days with 3 kids under the age of 3....starting to get on my nerves.) So the part is in, the freezer is good and frozen and the repair guy says "Load her up! You're in business!" The fridge seemed much cooler so we did. We had company for dinner and proceeded to put all our beautiful bourbon marinated flank steak with garlic mash and decadent chocolate cake into the fridge before spending the evening talking and having fun. This morning we wake up to a fridge that is 60 degrees. Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! Crap! Stupid fridge!



Ahem, apparently Mr. N is one of the handiest men around because he looked it up on the internet, pulled apart some apparatus in the fridge and found the problem. The space that conducts the cold air down from the fridge and the "warm air returns" were completely blocked with ice. That meant no cold air could get into the fridge and the warm air stayed in the fridge instead of moving up into the freezer to be returned as cold air. So he dried those out with a hair blower and sucked all the air intakes out with our vacuum...it made a huge mess in the kitchen which the girlies thought was the funnest thing ever. And wah lah! We're back in business....at least I supposed until the thing blows up tomorrow morning.

At least the upshot of all of this is I have an extremely clean fridge. If you want to lick your food right off the fridge shelf, just stop on by!

Besides the frenetic emptying and reloading of the fridge, I've also been on a dyeing tear. Some more yarn came in for an order and I've been busy getting it all ready to go out the door. It's always nice to dye and have the fun of reskeining it all. It's so pretty just slipping through my fingers on it's way to the swift. Each skein has it's own nuances and it's neat to see the differences develop. Yarn Love has been selling like hotcakes, and I've been putting together many packages for shipping. Mr. N drives right by the mailbox every day on his way to work, so I handed him a stack of four and asked if he would drop them off. It's been 0 degrees actual temp with a foot of snow on the ground for the past few weeks, and I just didn't feel like walking down the drive to the mail box only to return as a snowman. A few minutes later, I see these four, beautifully wrapped packages of $200 worth of yarn sitting on his trunk as he backs down the driveway!!! So, I did what any self respecting yarn dyer would do. I threw open the door, ran out into the snow in my slippers while waving my arms frantically and all the time picturing the packages, my beautiful babies, hitting the dirty, sandy, salty snow of the street. He nonchalantly rolls the window down, assures me he knows they're there and proceeds to go merrily on his way.

They all made it safely into the mailbox. I was still cold. And mostly baffled at why he would do that.

And my favorite part of having a distracted week: the Caffeine Dumps. Let me start off by saying that when I am pregnant I don't have caffeine. When I am nursing I don't have caffeine. Caffeine in pregnancy causes the baby's brain to work differently and there's preliminary evidence showing that it causes a host of problems such as ADD, etc. When I'm nursing my body is hyper sensitive to it, and a cup of 1/2 caff, 1/2 decaf coffee will have me laying in bed awake 15 hours after I drank it. So I prefer to stay away. However, now that my nursing relationship with X is minimal (he nurses once or twice in the night) and can have some. But I'm still working my way up and rarely ever get above 1/4 caff, 3/4 decaf blend. Unless I'm so distracted by my funky fridge and copious quantities of dyeing that i don't count the scoops of coffee right.

Oh, the thrill of the caffeine high! I am getting so much done! I feel so great! My kids have never been such angels. Never mind that you can't see the floor in the family room due to the layer of toys. I'll have them picked up in a jiffy. Right after I finish these last 10 pounds of yarn.

Two hours later I can't understand why every little thing is jangling my nerves and I'm the hugest grump you've ever seen. It's so bad, I'm wondering what I can do to get away from myself. Oh, and I hate that 10 pounds of soaking wet yarn waiting for me to dye it. Die yarn, die!

So that in a nutshell is the last few days of my life. My best tip of the Valentine's Day week? If you stand outside in subzero temps for 10- 15 minutes while filling your car with gas on your way home from a bikini wax, you'll notice almost no redness and swelling! It's like instant gratification! So remember that beauty tip from me, your friendly yarn dyer, next time it's off the the aesthetician.


Here is my knitting project of the week. I think I actually started it in the midst of last week, the Week From Hell, because I realized that the gorgeous Tiger Eye lace socks would never get done in time to qualify for this month's Socktopia challenge. I have over achiever tendencies. Sometimes I'm pretty good at suppressing them, but this is not one of those times. Rather than get most of the way through the lacey ones, I just put them down and grabbed some Emu Superwash that had been sitting in my destash box forever. Got to love that. The pattern is one that I made up. It's just like the Beverly Socks, only a heavier gauge and not quite as symmetrical. I didn't actually use a calculator at any point during the knitting of these socks, I just cast on at the toes (which are really much wider than normal) and started knitting. But they're turning out OK after all, and I know I'll wear them. They will be pair number THREE of Katie's hand knit socks when they're done. I'm nearly out of yarn, so it will be soon. I've promised myself that I'll get back to the Tiger Eye lace as soon as these are off the needles. I've already committed to sending that along to Socktopia members as a free pattern. I've never really done lace before...what was I thinking? Eeek!

Some of you have been asking about the Spring Collection on Yarn Love. It's up and you can take home anything you want. I promise to send it right out. I won't keep it even though I love it. Every skein of yarn you buy helps get me to my exhibitor's booth at the upcoming Knitter's Connection in Columbus, OH. So if you want to see me there, buy a skein!

Guess what? Yarn!

Ahem, I know you just are never going to believe this, but this post will be devoted to yarn. No, I'm quite serious. Yarn, yarn and more yarn. Possibly some comments about my fridge if I get side tracked. (I am really easily side tracked, and more importantly, I'm usually pretty happy flying down whatever tangent presents itself. I never used to me. Just since I've become a mom....See, what did I tell you? Easily side tracked.)



I have NEW YARN PICTURES!!! Sarah, my official yarn photographer took pictures of the spring line this Saturday and they'll be up on the site today. I can't wait. I love her work and I'm super excited about yarn. (Edited to add: they're now available at www.shopyarnlove.com!)



The Spring Collection has something unique about it - several of the colors are used in multiple colorways. That means they'll match each other easily. Plus, I'm offering 5 matching solids this season. There are also going to be "Sock Duos" - mini skeins, one varigated one solid so you can do colorwork. Plus, it's easy colorwork because you know the solid color is the same shade that's in the varigated skein. woohoo!


So here's a sneak peak of what's coming. All six varigated colorways are here and several of the 5 matching solid shades. They're pictured on a variety of base yarns including our superwash sock, merino/tencel sock, the new bamboo/nylon sock yarn, merino/silk, etc:

Bad, Bad Blogger

I have 3 partially completed drafts that I have never posted. I think it's symbolic of my life recently. You won't mind that I've been neglecting you, will you? I thought not. I knew you would understand.


Well, this week has been less than stellar...printer broke, hood flew into windshield while I was driving, my children painted their room with poop during a nap (requiring 5 hours of cleaning....oh, so gross!), last night the kids and I came down with a bad cold, and the freezer is broken this morning. I can't wait for this freaking week to be over.


On the bright side, the Spring Collection for Yarn Love is going in for photography tomorrow. Yay! I've been dyeing like a maniac. I have pounds upon pounds of yarn sitting around here just waiting for new adoptive homes. It's gorgeous, if I do say so myself. And we were able to make a yarn replacement. The new Scarlett O'Hara is a soft, cushy sock yarn that is 60% merino wool/ 30% bamboo and 10% nylon. I think bamboo feels like microfiber. It has that same ultra softness combined with the open loft. If you're a sock yarn junkie, like me, you're going to love this. One of the first skeins of this was sent to the effervescent Lime N Violet, and got a mention on their latest show (#35). I freaked out, it made a rotten day much better. Oh, and there is a colorway this season called Limeade and Violet in honor of the knitty, talking queens.


So, have you all heard about Socktopia? I am participating...nevermind that I lost all my fraking buttons when I accidentally changed the template. (Yeah, the new blogger makes that really easy, let me tell you.) Soon I will be sporting a beautiful Socktopia button, but I've got to get my life back together before I even think about going there. The general concept of Socktopia is one pair of sock per month for the year. If you start and complete a pair of socks within a month then you get entered into a drawing for prizes. Yay! Prizes! There are themes for you to work from, a Flickr group for drooling over everyone's socks and a place to chat. I'm loving it. I knit three pairs of socks last month, but this month I'm hoping I'll make it through one. I'm designing this month's pair. They have a fairly intricate 25 st lace pattern that will go from cuff, to toe. I really haven't knit much lace at all, so it's been interesting. I did rip the first entire repeat of the pattern out (16 rows). Then I placed some stitch markers and things seem to be going better. Next time, I'll remember not to start involved projects during the shortest month of the year! eeek! They are really pretty though. Being knit from Tofutsies, color #724.


I do have some mohair on the wheel. (Actually, it's off the wheel as of last night, but shhh!, it's not plied yet.) It will be plied with some hand dyed merino wool that I hand dyed. It's going to be for socks - what else? I'm a little bit addicted to the handspun, hand knit socks. Yeah. It's gotten bad. I have only 2 pairs of hand knit socks, and I alternate days that I wear them. That way I can wash and block the "off" pair and be in hand knit socks all week long. I seriously need some more pairs. (My wheel really isn't that washed out or dull looking. It's just not a good photo of it. If you look closely, you'll see one of my hand knit socks in action. Seriously. I wear them all the time. It's like an addiction. But without all the rehab and brow beating that comes with traditional substance abuse. I may even make it through my fiber stash this year, if I keep the spinning up!)


This is Miss G - one day I was taking pictures of yarn and she wanted me to take her photo, too. Isn't she sweet? mhm, I thought so, too. Their third birthday is coming up in a couple months. I remember how tiny they were when they first arrived. 18" long, and only 5lbs, 12oz and 6 lbs, 7 oz respectively. Full heads of deep black hair. Sigh. I don't miss the 14 months of extreme sleep deprivation, but who are these beautiful and independent toddlers? I don't remember my babies growing up.

Sock Jumble: the Beverly Socks

Now, Miss Beverly, the question you must ask yourself is, "What is this a picture of?" And possibly, "How will this fit together in the whole?" Finally, "Why are they not done and on my feet?"


The first answer: These pictures are of your socks, but they're a bit jumbled.
The second answer: Wait and see.
The third answer: Because I have kids. *giggle*

Have fun! I hope they're good and teasing!

I am in a sock swap! Wheee!

I just got my swap pal assignment from the Knitty Board.com Sock Swap. I'm very excited. I got paired with a great sock knitter named Beverly. (That link will take you to her blog.) She just completed a beautiful sweater for her husband for Christmas, you should go check it out.

This is just the second swap I've been involved in. The rules are that you create a pair of socks specifically for your pal based on their preferences and your skill level. I think swaps are a lovely kind of set up. You get a lovely gift or item tailored for you, plus the fun of tailoring something for a new friend.

I'm really looking forward to knitting Beverly's socks. She likes Keen which she found on www.shopyarnlove.com so I'll be knitting that up for her in some pattern that I have yet to determine. I think I might design the pattern just for the yarn. Then I can spiffy up the pattern, PDF it and post it here for free. They are hand spun on the Tina II (she really needs a new name...I'll have

Yarn Swag

I know most bloggers refer to it as pr0n, but I just don't like that term. So I'm inventing a new one: Yarn Swag. Footnotes to Scout of Scout's Swag and the term swag as defined by the Urban Dictionary. Although my term Yarn Swag does not carry the connotation of cheap, mass made crap, nor does it have anything to do with wild ass guessing. It's just beautiful photos of yarn or ready knitted objects meant to advertise the cause of knitting and yarn in general. So there you have it. I've invented a new term.

Now onto today's swag - my hand spun, hand knit, me designed Katie socks. My first pair of hand knit socks that I KEPT FOR MYSELF. I've knit several pairs of socks. More than enough to put me in the proficient sock knitter's category over on the Knitty Board Sock Swap but this is the very first pair that I've ever kept for myself. Go figure.

They are hand spun on my Jensen Tina II spinning wheel from 100% merino wool roving hand painted by me in my Aurora Borealis colorway. They are fraternal twin socks. The singles were spun along the full length of the roving and then plied back on itself. Then I knit the socks at the same time on two circulars from both ends of a center pull ball. One is considerably more yellowy than the other one, but I still like them. They went together really fast. Knit in about 2 1/2 days in between living and taking care of the kiddos. Then they sat on my needles for another 4 1/2 waiting to be bound off. The yarn is sports weight, so these babies aren't going to last that long. Merino is not know for it's durability and the heavier weight isn't the best treatment for something like socks that are going to see tons of wear, but I'm OK with that. It's OK if they wear out. They're super comfy and I'm really enjoying them.

The stitch pattern is a fun and easy ribbed cable that I found in Barbara Walker's Stitch Treasury. Boy I love those books. It's a mock cable, because you don't need a cable needle to create the stitch pattern. I do have the pattern worked up for both sport weight and fingering weight yarn. It's available at Payloadz.com for 1 cent. It won't let me offer it for free which stinks. It's by far the easiest and fastest way for me to get my patterns out there. So, if you'd like you too can have Funky Zebra socks.

I have a pair of socks on the needles for a friend. I'm doing Knitty's RPM for her out of my Juliet yarn dyed in the colorway Handsome. They're coming along. I'm just past the heel turn and they're very pretty. The only thing I don't like about the short row toe is that I think it creates slight gapping along the heel that I just don't like and the fact that I can't do the k1, s1 pattern for greater durability. So I think I'll try doing an afterthought heel to see if I can take care of that.

I'll keep you updated on the Beverly socks. Stay tuned..................

UnWrapped Short Row Technique - Flat Knitting

I had a request for a detailed tutorial on how to do short rows while flat knitting. You can follow the original UnWrapped Short Row tutorial for the right side rows, then use these instructions for the purl (wrong) side fo the fabric. It's very easy to do - don't be put off by the large number of pictures. They're here to help you visualize each stage of the process. I've also included photos of incorrectly knitted wraps, so you can easily tell whether or not you've got it down.

Click the photos to enlarge. I did not resize them, so you can get a really detailed view if you like, but they're still a managable size for those of you who have a dial-up connection.

These instructions assume that you have happily knit through the inital wrap on the right side, and have purled to the wrap on the wrong side. (If you don't know how to knit in the first wrap on the right side, see my first UnWrapped Short Row Tutorial. Just knit through the first wrap, and then come back here.)

Here's what a wrapped stitch looks like on the purl side. See the double bumps around the stitch? The extra is from wrapping the stitch:


Unwrap second stitch (purl stitch) by inserting your right needle from top to bottom through the wrap only, slip the original stitch off the needle, and pull the wrap off.

Right needle inserted top to bottom through the wrap:


If you do this correctly, the wrap should be on your right needle, with the original stitch free. Here the wrapped stitch is on the right needle and the original stitch is hanging loose to the front of the fabric:

Now slip the wrap stitch (Purlwise - don't twist it) onto the left needle, and put the original stitch back on the left needle just behind the wrap stitch. Here is the wrap stitch on the left needle, and I've parked the original stitch on my right needle, so I don't accidentally unravel it.

When you slip the original stitch back onto the left needle, make sure it passes behind the wrap stitch, as the work faces you. In other words, by slipping the original stitch on the side of the right side of the work, you create a stitch that meshes seamlessly with the current fabric rather than allowing the wrap stitch to show on the right side. You'll know if you've done this incorrectly because you'll have funky looking stitches on the right side of your fabric.

Then purl the wrap stitch and the original stitch together (p2 together). Here are both stiches freshly purled together and on the right needle:

Right and Wrong Stitches
For clarification purposes here are some photos of what the wraps should and should not look like once you've knit them into the fabric.

Right: Here is a close up of the purl side wrap from the wrong side of the work. It looks like a C with a long tail:

Now both the first and second wrap. First, right side wrap on the left and the second, purl side wrap on the left. See how they are mirror images of each other? That's what you want to see. The right side wrap is mirrored or backwards.

Wrong: Both of these wraps are wrong, because the stitches have been twisted or placed on out of order. The right side wrap is really easy to spot, because it doesn't have the long tail C look. But look closely at the right side wrap. It's twisted on the front side, but it still looks like a mirrored C. There is a slight difference, you can see two "layers" on the incorrectly wrapped stitch. It's a good idea to check both sides of the fabric before continuing on. The good news is that since you formed that right side wrap on the right side of the fabric, you will be able to see if you've got the stitches out of order or twisted!

The correct stitches are circled in blue, the wrong stitches are circled in pink. Again from the wrong side of the work:

See how the top of this swatch is starting to round gently? That's because of the two short rows that I put in. Isn't that cool? This last photo is the same, but I've traced the out line of both the right and wrong stitches so you can see the stitch path more clearly:

There you have it. A simple, easy, no gap method for short row wrapping. You've got tutorials for both circular and flat knitting. Go shape something. It's easy!

In quest of the perfect Christmas

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas (if you celebrate that particular holiday). There are some things that people just don't talk about amid the holiday cheer, general feeling of fellowship with mankind, etc., etc., etc., and that is the Christmas Dud. Oh, it'll come up once all the warm fuzzies of Christmas have worn off and everyone is jaded from holiday burn out, but while the plum pudding is still warm and the Christmas lights are glowing the Christmas Dud just doesn't exist. Why? Because it's un-American. It's not idyllic. It's not something you see presented in a serious Hollywood film about this particular holiday. It does still exist. In fact, 99.9% of all normal people experience more Christmas Duds than that idyllic holiday they've been dreaming of. So here's my tribute to the Christmas Dud; dedicated to all of you who've forgotten that your children won't actually sit still for your Christmas picture and that the usual rules governing cooking, time management, money spent shipping, and extended family relationships aren't suspended on that day of days - Christmas.

Subscribe for free!

I added a RSS feed for the blog, so now you can subscribe to it. Lots of fun knitting content delivered to you as soon as there's a new post. The link allows you to subscribe using lots of different subscription methods (Bloglines, etc.) so you can easily add me to your other subs.

I really know nothing about RSS feeds, and I did not code this one by hand. I did it using Feed Burner, and it's up and I was able to subscribe, so I hope that equals sucess. As it is, I am busy not doing all the things I really ought to be doing, because I'm fighting holiday burnout. Or it might be the fact that I'm still not at 100% from the Ick, and the impromptu company, and I have upcoming trip paralyses....but let's not even go there.

I remembered last night as I was trying to sleep that I still have a couple of Christmas gifts that need completing. My dad's scarf, while it is finished being knit, still needs the fleece sewn on to the back of it. He's pretty sensitive to wool, and I figure backing the merino and binding the edges in fleece will make it very warm and non irritating to the neck. Number Two, Sarah still needs her yarn dyed. She's getting a learn to knit kit which at this point includes a pair of Addi Natura in size 7 (I wanted 8, but the LYS was pretty picked over in the Natura and that's as close as I could get.), some hand made stitch markers and two skeins of the Anne Shirley merino yarn dyed in a special colorway just for her. Plus, a bunch of links to great learn to knit sites and knitting lessons as needed from me. But as yet, she's got ecru yarn and no links. Number Three, I still need to finish Mr. N's hat. I suppose creating your own hat pattern which involves intertwining cable design (which I have never done before) is not a good choice for last minute knitting. That and the fact that I think I have decreased a bit too sharply, and I'm not sure if it's going to fit like I want it to. He has a very broad, flat head at the top and so it's a bit tricky to get the shaping right. I'd try it on him, but it's a surprise and so that's right out. I'm thinking of not finishing off that top so if I need to, I can rip and reknit the top if needed. Oy.

I'll let you know how the floor mopping, diaper washing, vacuuming, Yarn of the Month ball winding, packing and wrapping of presents goes. I should get started on that now, but that would mean stopping on the hat knitting.

Felties: slippers for the whole family

Felties - slippers for the whole family!

Introducing Felties – cozy, buttery soft slippers designed to keep your toes toasty warm during the cool weather! This cushy, felted, boot-style slipper is great for cold weather. Pattern includes sizes for the whole family and includes instructions for both worsted and bulky weight yarn. This is a great pattern for using up odd balls in your stash. It knits up very quickly!

Gauge:

* Bulky: 2.25 stitches and 4 rows per inch on US size 10.5 double pointed needles.
* Worsted: 2.75 stitches and 5 rows per inch on US size 10.5 double pointed needles.

Materials:
* Worsted: MC – 1 (4 oz., 230 yd.) skein, all sizes. CC – 1 skein, all sizes.
* Bulky: MC – 1 (100gram, 110yds) skein (NB-Large Child), 2 skiens (Small Woman – Man). CC – 1 skein, all sizes.
* 1 Set US Size 10.5 double pointed needles
* Tapestry needle

Sizes:
(Newborn, 3-6months, 6-9months, 9-12months, Small Child, Medium Child, Large Child, Small Woman, Medium Woman, Large Woman/Small Man)


I use KnitPick's Sierra for the bulky slippers and Yarn Love's Anne Shirley for the worsted weight. Since this item is felt-to-fit the gauge us not critical. I do highly recommend diving into your stash for your yarn. Odd balls and leftovers will make some wildly striped slippers to keep your feet cozy through the year.

Felties are knit from the top down just like a giant sock, with some special shaping to get the cuff to turn down just right. For a funky detail, knit the cuff flat instead of in the round as given in the instructions and add a button and loop closure.

For a custom fit: choose the size that best describes your recipient. Measure their foot from heel to toe. Knit the pattern as written for their size, and when you get the the foot, knit the foot to equal your recipient's total foot length and then start your decreases. I find that this turns out just right. Be sure to keep a ruler handy as you felt - measure that heel to toe length so that it comes out the right size. I do one round in the washing machine with like colored clothes, and then pop it into the dryer, measuring through out the cycle. Personally, I like the option of machine drying these super thick slippers so they can speedily be sent to their new home.

Not the ick

The Ick has come to live at my house. More specifically in me. That last minute Christmas shopping that Nick and I did at the mall on Monday I'm pretty sure is the culprit. We never are able to go shopping together, unless we get someone to watch the kids, and my mom was kind enough to take them. So we got the Christmas tights, and the Christmas shoes for the girlies, and bras for me. I was down to one after the untimely death of my black and white Felina lace bra. A girl can't only have one bra. And we got Mr. X a leapfrog fridge toy, and cousin RayRay a magna doodle and the next morning I was sick. Chills, body ache but luckily no puking. I didn't eat anything, but I wasn't throwing anything up, for which I am extremely grateful.

December is my Yarn of the Month turn and I'm scrambling to get things done. More than 50% of the participants placed their orders late, which prevents me from dyeing in advance of our trip. Anyway, between the holiday gatherings, baking and shopping I've been dyeing like a mad woman. Tonight Nick's very good friend is coming into town - unexpectedly. We found out last night. Then we're gone for nearly a week over Christmas, and when we get home a good friend of mine is coming into town. Thank goodness the 1st is a holiday and I can use it to get some packaging and shipping done!

I still am working on a hat for Mr. N. It's a top secret project, which I can only work on when he's not around. The Ick put a serious dent in the progress, and I hope that I can still get it done in time. It's a cabled, close fitting cap of my own design - pretty easy to do. I'd like to offer it as a free pattern, but after the Christmas season! I'm working it up in a hand dyed navy on Anne Shirley - my super fabulous, last forever, terribly soft yarn I get from a small spinnery.

Hope you all are enjoying this time of the year in a relaxing and stress free manner. If you're waiting for a Yarn of the Month package.....it will be in the mail!