• Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
My life has been unexciting lately (which is generally how I prefer it). However, I did get the chance to hang out with Liz and her husband Doug a week or so ago! I hadn’t seen them since 2004, so this was a great chance to catch up.
I taught Liz how to spin on a wheel. I was a little nervous about this, as I’ve never taught anybody before and my spinning style is a bit weird because I learned from books and the internet. (So is my knitting style, for that matter). However, everything worked out pretty well, and Liz spun some lovely purple yarn with fairly even consistency! Go Liz!
We went to Yarnia, where I made two cones of yarn, and Liz and I went back to the 80s.
Then Liz and Doug took Mike and me to see The Church, which was really cool. I brought along my second Dumbledore sock and knitted away while we waited for the show to start. :) Don’t mind my shiny face; I usually can’t be bothered to put on makeup unless I’m going to work!
• Sunday, June 07th, 2009
A while back, I remember telling somebody that I just didn’t “get” sock knitting. Why would people spend so much time knitting things that people don’t always see? Socks get dirty and sweaty, and you’re likely to wear holes all the way through your hard work. What’s the point?
Well, apparently if you stick me in a city where I will regularly commute by bus, I’ll see the light. Socks are small projects, easy to toss in your purse or bag. You can hold them nicely in your lap — you don’t have a huge sprawling project that drags on the (muddy) floor. You can work on them in staff meetings, or while waiting at the movie theater, or at the doctor’s office.
And you can show them off to everybody if you want. I certainly do now, much to my poor husband’s amusement/embarrassment. :D
Dumbledore Plays Charades is my third pair of socks. I’ve finished the first and am close to turning the heel on the second. I have a few skeins of sock yarn in my stash that I have big plans for, and once I get my KnitPicks order this week (40″ needles for magic loop!), I’ll start knitting my precious.
I’ve also fallen in love with Sock Dreams since moving to Portland, so I have socks on the brain more often than I did in Denver.
Can’t… stop… knitting… socks. If I knit enough pairs, I won’t have to worry about wearing them out because I’ll have so many to choose from, right? :)
• Thursday, May 28th, 2009
I have a lot of stuff to blog about — sewing, knitting, all sorts of things — but right now my thought process has been derailed by a shiny new yarn. Literally.
(You can see a more color-accurate picture here.)
This is Dream in Color “Starry” sock yarn — merino with silver in it. I am on a teal kick lately and as soon as I saw this colorway I fell head over heels in love. What am I going to make? Socks? A little shawl? I’m leaning toward something from Socks from the Toe Up… but could I bear to put such beautiful yarn on my feet, where it would get dirty and sweaty? Hmmm.
I’m still working on my Dumbledore socks on my bus commutes and am almost done with the first one! I had to rip back a few times because I was experimenting with a few things, but I’m very happy with how it’s coming out. I took it with me to see Fleetwood Mac last week. I was the crazy woman holding up a piece of knitting, taking a picture, and singing along.
• Wednesday, April 29th, 2009
Yesterday I went to the doctor for a basic checkup. I really like my doctor, but she is notorious for running late… I can plan on spending 30 to 45 minutes in the exam room waiting for her. If I didn’t like her so much I wouldn’t put up with it. I pulled out my Dumbledore sock — of course I keep my current small project in my work bag! — and was happily occupied while I waited. When the doctor finally did come in, she smiled and said I reminded her of her mom because she always had her knitting with her. :)
While I don’t take my knitting everywhere, it does accompany me to many places. I knit in waiting rooms; on the bus; in staff meetings; in the car (as a passenger only!); while waiting for the scanner at my current job to compile and save its documents; on airplanes…
I even knit on a cruise ship in Alaska during my honeymoon. :)
I also knit while waiting for the midnight showing of Harry Potter movies. My little group of friends and family always goes super early so we can get good seats and enjoy the general craziness of dedicated HP fans. Of course we dress up… don’t you? ;)
Knitting has made me far more patient than I used to be…
• Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
Dumbledore is playing charades and I think he’s doing a great job!
The herringbone rib pattern is subtle because the yarn itself is so obnoxious, but I like how it’s coming out. :) I’m starting to really like the magic loop method… I don’t have to worry about flinging a DPN onto the muddy bus floor by accident. I think I’d prefer a longer cable, though.
Self-patterning sock yarn really impresses the muggles on the bus! It also entertains me — the color changes are riveting for some reason.
I originally cast on 60 st total for this sock and had gotten about 2 inches into the foot when I realized it was far too wide. Last weekend I ripped back and started over, using 52 st instead (two pattern repeats taken out). Now it fits nicely! I’m about 4 or 5 inches into it now, all knit over the past 3 days. I usually don’t knit socks this quickly — I told you the color changes were exciting. :)
Pattern: Charade socks (Ravelry download)
Yarn: Opal Harry Potter, “Dumbledore” colorway
Needles: US size 1 (2.5 mm)
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