ARDIRI

Things I am loving right now...

• LOL Vogue Models over at Jezebel.com (similar to the "I can has cheezburger" LOLcats, but with human models).

• Doodling on magazines...
  Poor Nicole went all XIV after Tommy-boy left her and the quacktology thugs wouldn't leave her be:

• This hat, Verity, by Ysolda (Must buy pattern as the Felicity hat doesn't seem to be working out for me!)

(Image Credit: Ysolda.com)

• Magic Loop on my super slick Addi Turbos and Colinette Jitterbug in the Toscana colorway:

(It "seems" to be a faster knitting method compared to DPNs.  Not certain just yet, but it is sure nice to not be losing needles every 10 or so minutes!)

• Looking at little cars on the streets of San Francisco:

Sweet Home, Carolina (Socks)!

At last, a finished knit:

• Pattern: Carolina, Last Queen of Naples by Monkey Toes (Ravelinks).  I love this pattern--it is sooooooo easy to memorize!  I think I shall do it some time in the near future without the purl row (see here and here; ravelinks as well).

• Needles: Susan Bates Aluminum; and--in retrospect--size 0 for the left foot and size 1 for the right (Oops!).  I much prefer the look that resulted from using size 0 needles and am thinking that it might be time to invest in some Addi (slick and speedy!) size 00 needles for an even tighter stitch gauge and durability.  I've decided to deliberately ignore the difference in the two sock's gauges as the difference will be hard to see under pants and tucked into shoes.


• Yarn: Gorgeous Koigu KPPPM #P117 from my secret pal, Beth of Numerical Knitting.

Ah! Kiss-kiss! The French, I love the French!

I am on what my teaching job officially calls "February Break," or as they say in French: "Vacances de février".  Ah!  Kiss-kiss (*imagine me kissing your right and then left cheek*)!  How I love the French and their belief in the importance of vacations.  So très un-American!

Thus, I am sitting down and playing catch up on dreaming about all the things I'd like to knit as well as nearing the finish line on my second Carolina, Queen of Naples, Sock:

So what am I dreaming about knitting?

• The Keri-Russell-Sundance-inspired hat called Felicity, which was wonderfully interpreted by Wannett Clyde of Knitology (and a special thanks to B. for turning my head towards this lovely hat!):

• Some booties (Christine's Stay On Baby Booties) in the leftover Koigu KPPPM (from these socks) for my friend's newborn baby.

• I'd also like to work on over-dyeing some Koigu KPM yarn (#1050) I bought this summer that was advertised as "sky blue" on Ebay, but is just way too bright for my taste--more day-glo-blue than sky blue.  I am thinking of experimenting with black over-dyeing a la Socks That Rock Raven Clan, but with a bit less blackness.

• I also need to block my Fitted Knits puff-sleeve cardigan--which has been finished knit-wise for nearly 6 months now--and sew its buttons on.

• Oh, and I am dreaming of making more socks for myself!  I have at last discovered that hand knit socks are perfect for wearing to work with my gnome shoes (the black nubuck Dansko Giselles)--or as my polite, kind friends say, "Fairy shoes".

Yeah, I actually do knit...

In between rows of stripes for John's belated birthday scarf, I have been working on a sock in Colinette Cadenza (Colorway-Bright Charcoal, Size 2 needles).

Yay! My pal's socks have arrived!

Yippee!  My pal, Jaime of A Notion to Knit, got her Sockpalooza package.  Go check out her site!

May I pretty-please marry my Sockpalooza Socks?

I am SO in L-O-V-E  with the Sockpalooza Socks my pal, Jane of OzKnitter, made for me.  They are perfect, perfect, oh-so-perfect!  Fit, style, coloring, lace--everything is just wondermous when it comes to these socks.  Even Zoe likes them!

They are made with hand-dyed Australian yarn (Live 2 Knit's Smoke colorway) and Jane wrote that the pattern is inspired by the "Padded Footlets" from Favorite Socks.

Jane of OzKnitter also included the leftover yarn, some Patonyle sock yarn in color 4310, a lovely smelling "Botanical Bug Buster Moth Ball," and a s-s-sweet card of yarn and a postcard of Melbourne.

Thank you so much Ms. Jane of OzKnitter!  I absolutely am enamored with the socks you made for me and am quite certain that I shall wear them soon with this absolutely chilly weather here in San Francisco.

*DSL Update: Blog posting, comment-replying, emailing, and all-things-internet-related shall be pretty much lacking until at least the 17th of August when the DSL-person comes by our complex to work his or her magic on the switchboard.  So until then I shall be dearly jonesing for the spectacular world of the internet.*

Prodotto Finito: Sockapalooza 4 Socks!

At last, the socks for my Sockapalooza 4 Pal are finito!

Hopefully she will like them and that they'll fit her well! 

Details, details:

• Yarn: Koigu Color P206, Dye Lot 39.  I used two skeins of the same dye lot, but the socks look a little off colorwise in person--bah!  I used a little less than a skein for each sock.
• Size 2 needles, Susan Bates Aluminum DPNs.
• Cast on 50 stitches and worked in a pattern of my own devising (k5, p5; k1rd stockinette; p5, k5).

SchAmazing!

Check out The Loopy Ewe which has an awesome feature for finding sock yarns by color!

Sierra Sunset Socks--Free Pattern!

Difficulty Level
Pretty darn easy--if you can knit a sock, you can make these.

Size
Women's Medium

Materials

• 2 skeins of Koigu KPPPM (I used dye code P137, Dye Lot 135 for my pair).
• Set of 4 DPNs size #1 US.
• 2 different stitch markers.
• Darning needle to weave in ends.

Directions

Cast on 60 stitches, place 20 stitches each onto three needles, join into round making sure not to twist.

Cuff
Work cuff in K3, P1 for 8 rounds.

Leg
Work in K8, P2 for 2.5  inches.

Making the Heel Flap
Work the heel flap back and forth on two needles with 32 stitches.

Row 1: Slip 1 Purlwise with yarn in front, *P to end of row*, turn over to right side.

Row 2: *Slip 1 Purlwise with yarn in back, K1; repeat to end of row*, turn over to wrong side.

Work these two rows for a total of 30 rows.

Do a 31st row as follows: P1, P2tog, *P to 3 stitches before end of row*, P2tog, P1 (leaving you with 30 stitches in which to do the Heel Turn).

Turning the Heel
Row 1 (RS): K19, ssk.  Turn.
Row 2 (WS): Sl1, p8, p2tog.  Turn.
Row 3: Sl1, k8, ssk.  Turn.
Row 4: Sl1, p8, p2tog.  Turn.
Row 5: Sl1, k8, ssk.  Turn.
Row 6: Sl1, p8, p2tog.  Turn.
Row 7: Sl1, k8, ssk.  Turn.
Row 8: Sl1, p8, p2tog.  Turn.
Row 9: Sl1, k8, ssk.  Turn.
Row 10:  Sl1, p8, p2tog.  Turn.
Row 11: Sl1, k8, ssk.  Turn.
Row 12: Sl1, p8, p2tog.  Turn.
Row 13: Sl1, k8, ssk.  Turn.
Row 14: Sl1, p8, p2tog.  Turn.
Row 15: Sl1, k8, ssk.  Turn.
Row 16: Sl1, p8, p2tog.  Turn.
Row 17: Sl1, k8, ssk.  Turn.
Row 18: Sl1, p8, p2tog.  Turn.
Row 19:  Sl1, k8, ssk.  Turn.
Row 20: Sl1, p8, p2tog.  Turn.

Picking Up Gusset Stitches
Work across 10 heel flap stitches on Needle 1. 

Using Needle 1, pick up 16 stitches. 

Place Stitch Marker #1.

Using Needle 2, work in established pattern across 28 stitches.

Place Stitch Marker #2.

Using Needle 3, pick up 16 stitches.

Finish knitting to Stitch Marker #1.

Working Gusset Decreases
(Decrease for a total of 60 stitches.)

Note: While working gusset decreases, make sure to work sock in established pattern across the 28 instep stitches and in Stockinette the stitches on the bottom of the sock.

Rd 1:
Knit in pattern to Stitch Marker #2,
Slip Stitch Marker #2, then K1 SSK,
Knit in Stockinette Stitch to 3 stitches before Stitch Marker #1, then K2TOG, K1.

Rd 2:
Knit in established pattern.

Repeat these two rounds till there are 60 stitches remaining.

Foot
Work in pattern until sock foot measures two inches short of the total length desired.

Toe
Start toe decreases 2 inches from total length of foot.  Toe is worked in Stockinette Stitch.

Rd 1:
After Stitch Marker #1--K1 SSK,
K to 3 stitches before Stitch Marker #2, then K2TOG, K1, 
Slip Stitch Marker #2, then K1, SSK,
K to 3 stitches before Stitch Marker #1, then K2TOG, K1,

Rd 2: Work in Stockinette Stitch

Repeat these two rounds till you have 12 stitches left.

Finishing the Sock
Graft the 12 stitches together using Kitchener Stitch. 
Weave in ends. 
Block if desired. 
Wear happily like a squirrel sashaying in the soft Sierra sunset light.

Oh, and since this is my first attempt at writing a pattern, please let me know if you find any boo-boos!

Reviewed

• The Pesthouse by Jim Crace--this is a quite enjoyable read.  A vision of an apocalyptic (in the non-religious sense) America whose inhabitants are eager leave the barren, gang-riven land for the shores of Europe where the pigs are eager to be food and allow one to strip meat for food from their sides as they (the pigs) walk along.  Machinery and its metal workings are a story of a distant past, of one's great-great-great-great-to-the-nth-degree grandparents, and are considered the work of the devil by a new religious group, the Finger Baptists.  Beautiful tale, not the best dystopic story ever, but a good read.

• Marathon Woman by Kathrine Switzer--I loved this book and the honesty with which Kathrine tells her life story.  Although she wasn't the first actual woman to run the Boston Marathon (that title belongs to Roberta Gibb), she was the first woman to register to run it and was nearly kicked physically out of the race.  Marathon Woman really opened my eyes to the issues and barriers woman had to face in the sports arena prior to Title IX, as well as the issues faced less openly after its passing.  I guess when it comes to feminism, I wasn't all that interested in sports issues, rather I was more intrigued/infuriated by things such as the non-passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and the fact that a woman could not get a credit card on her own prior to 1975.  Also interesting was to read about the lack of amenities--water or porta-potties--during marathons and other races till the mid-to-early 1980's.

• Knitting Rules by the Yarn Harlot--This one was in the shelves at my library and I was kind of hesitant to pick it up because I didn't enjoy her book At Knit's End: Meditations for Women Who Knit to Much as it seemed to dwell too much and too gleefully on overtly-excessive yarn consumption which I am trying to avoid (see The Overspent American: Why We Want What We Don't Need by Juliet B. Schor).  Nevertheless,  I enjoyed reading this book and think it would make a good book for a knitting gift for someone who is in the beginning to intermediate stages of learning to knit and could use some great tips and tricks, as well as overall reference.

• Notes on a Scandal--with Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett.  This is marvelously strange movie; a bit off-setting and disturbing, but wonderfully acted.

• Frontline's The Meth Epidemic--Whoah! Scary shit!  I had only read about what meth did to its addicts and actually seeing the visual destruction of addicts and their families was horrifying.  I used to complain about having to buy psuedophedrine from pharmacists (for my massive, chronic sinus problems) but--after seeing this program--I am committed to never complaining again!

• The Good Shepherd--hmmm...I'd have to honestly classify this one as boring and way too long for its own good.  Too bad, because I love me a good spy, thriller, CIA-type of movie.

• Mocean Worker, song "Tickle It"--this sounds like good subway music to me, perfect for watching the madness of the 5 o'clock commute and knitting away like a madwoman.  I am thinking of getting the entire album.

• Destash--Sell your yarn stash for cash.  Wondermous!  I bought some sock yarn--Trekking XXL colors #185 & #186 (pics below)--off of the site for $13 a skein including shipping.  Wa-hoo!  I do believe I have finally caught the sock bug and am currently infected with a feverish addiction to sock knitting.