November 22, 2005
Harry Potter Update
Today is the day the Gryffindor Socks meet their new owner. I'm nervous and scared that she'll like them, but I'm trying to think positive. So, after a bit of blocking, I put them in the sock sleeve.
Thanks to Carolyn for the idea.
And then I wrapped them up. Ok, well there wasn't actually any wrapping involved unless you count the tissue paper I wrapped around them before I stuck them in this box.
I'm like a nervous mother sending her first born off to school on the first day. What if she doesn't like them? What if they don't fit? What if...? What if...? What if...? Yep, I'm neurotic. I can't help myself.
In other Christmas knitting news, I started the Thrum Mittens on Saturday.
This was my first successful attempt at a tubular cast-on and it went off without a hitch. I don't know what the problem was the last time I tried it, but whatever. I really like these mittens, even though I haven't worked on them much. However, if any of you know a good trick for getting that roving to stay twisted on the needle while I'm moving those stitches over it, I'd be very grateful. I've found the whole process to be a bit awkward - I feel like I have too many needles and too many thumbs.
Today is my last day of work this week - I do so love a holiday week. Tomorrow I'm staying home to bake pies and rolls and knit as much as I can. It sounds like the perfect day.
Posted by Stephanie at 8:30 AM | Comments (19)October 24, 2005
A Little More Magic
Thank you all for your wonderful response to the magic loop "tutorial". I hope some of you try it and have success. I worked the heel and gusset of the second sock this weekend, so I thought I'd share those steps with you as well.
The heel and gusset are done just like you would with dpns, but you have to reposition the stitches on the two needles. The first thing to do is work the heel as specified in your pattern. Reposition your stitches so that you have rearranged them with the heel stitches on one needle and the instep stitches on the second needle.
Then pull the cord out just like when you started.
You work the heel stitches and keep the instep stitches on the cable.
Then turn the heel according to the pattern instructions.
Once you've completed the heel it's time to pick up the stitches for the gusset and rearrange your stitches again. I knit the heel stitches over to the left edge of the heel and picked up the specified number of stitches.
After I picked up the left side stitches I rearranged the stitches so the cord divided the stitches between the instep stitches. This left half the total stitches on each side. The first couple of rounds after you pick up the stitches for the gusset are a little awkward, but it gets easier as you go. I use stitch markers to indicate the end of the foot and the beginning of the instep.
After that you just cruise along until you're finished.
Look at those matching stripes! I'm so excited that they match.
Project Specs:
Pattern: Conwy from Knitting on the Road
Yarn: Harry Potter Gryffindor Yarn from Sunshine Yarns
Needles: Size 1 40" Addi Turbo - magic loop method
Modifications: None, except using the magic loop instead of dpns.
Thoughts: I really like these socks. I was unsure about using a patterned sock for a self-striping yarn, but I think they turned out ok. I love how the ribbing fits and I'm pleased with the pattern - hopefully the recipient likes them too. This is my first attempt at top-down socks for quite awhile and I enjoyed them. The toe turned out nice and fits well and the use of chain stitches on the heel flap makes picking up stitches very easy. Nancy Bush recommends picking up only the front half of the stitch and then knitting through the back loop. I found that it made a nice row of stitches without any holes. I'll definately try another pair of socks top-down.
I'm on to finishing Ronnie and I cast on for the Ombre Blanket. Knitting on size 11 needles after size 1's is like knitting with trees! Hopefully it will get better as I go. Have a great Monday.
Posted by Stephanie at 8:52 AM | Comments (18)October 20, 2005
Magic Loop
As you probably know, Lolly is hosting Socktoberfest, and the Griffyndor socks are being knit as my participation. I thought I'd post a little bit about the magic loop because this is the first pair of socks I've knit with this method (my KRSP gave me the booklet and needle as a gift). I find that I really like this method of knitting socks. I don't think it will ever completely replace my dpns, but it's a nice change and once you get the hang of it, it's easy. Diana posted about the magic loop in July and she has a great link and better pictures, so go check that out too.
The magic loop is similar in theory to knitting socks on 2 circulars, but you use one long needle instead of 2 separate needles. I'm using a 40" size 1 needle for the Gryffindor socks. You cast on and then you divide your total stitches in half and pull the cable out between the halves so that you have 1/2 of the stitches on each end of the needle.
This is known as "Home Position" and after every half you return to this position with the yarn on the back stitches. To knit you pull the needle so that the back stitches slide onto the cable and knit the stitches off of the front needle onto the back needle.
When you get to the end of the front needle
you turn the sock around, push or pull the stitches from the cable onto the new front needle and start all over again. The one thing I noticed is that you have to make sure your working yarn is between the rows of stitches rather than at the back of the stitches you just worked or you'll get a yarn over when you make your first stitch
So, that's it for knitting socks with the magic loop - well that's the leg anyway. When I get to the heel and gusset I'll take some pictures and post about how that works. Try it for your next pair of socks, you might like it.
Posted by Stephanie at 9:34 AM | Comments (19)October 18, 2005
I've Been Busy
For most of last week I didn't have anything. Frieda still wasn't finished, the sock was boring, and I hadn't done a lot of knitting. Well, I'm here to tell ya that things have changed.
Frieda is finished. What do you think?
Project Specs:
Pattern: Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk Frieda
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk in Color 11
Gauge: 18 stitches and 24 rows over 10cm
Needles: Size 6 and 8 addi natura needles
Modifications: I completely changed the sleeves with the help of Grumperina. The ribbing is longer - to match the body - and the overall sleeve length is 20" rather than the 17 3/4" specified by the pattern. Additionally, the sleeves were made considerable narrower throughout - a much better fit. I believe that if I had knit the sleeves according to the original pattern I would have run out of yarn. This is all there was left.
And all of it was in pieces 18" or less because of all the knots I had to cut out.
Next up, the first Gryffindor Sock. This is only the third sock (the first two were a pair) that I've knit top-down and you know what, it's pretty good. I am quite pleased with the heel - no holes and when you use a chain stitch, picking up stitches is a snap.
I like the twining cable pattern, even with the self-striping yarn (which I wasn't sure about), and the toe is good. Not pointy like the last pair I knit top-down.
I've already started the second sock, and I hope it goes as well as the first. Have a great day.
Edited to add: I've updated the photo thanks to Lynette. She lightened it and made it better. Now maybe you can see the details.
Posted by Stephanie at 1:08 PM | Comments (31)October 10, 2005
Fits Like A...Sleeve
Frieda seaming didn't go as quickly as I'd hoped, so there are no finished pictures for you today. It took forever to weave in all those stupid ends. That exercise in patience and the fact that my in-laws were in town over the weekend resulted in not a lot of at-home knitting time. As you may recall (I won't blame you if you don't) the sleeves in the pattern had issues. It first became obvious that the sleeves were too short - the pattern calls for a 17 3/4 inch sleeve and I need a 20 inch one, well, 2 actually. As I studied the pattern and did some rudimentary calculations it became obvious that the sleeves would be way too big for me - 16 inches around the bicep - even with my massive muscular karate arms that's a bit much. So, Grumperina, being the math wiz she is, helped me redesign the sleeves. Ok, she did it all, I just provided the measurements. No surprise there - she's the genius, I'm mathmatically challenged. How else was that gonna work out? I understand that sleeve redesign can be a bit tricky and there's a leap of faith involved. There's no way to know for sure it's going to fit until you knit it and put it in the armhole. Well, guess what.
It couldn't fit any better. It's perfect. Thanks Grumperina! I only got one sleeve sewn in, but the rest should go pretty quickly and I imagine I'll actually be able to finish it this week.
With the craziness of the weekend, I did manage to find some time to knit the Gryffindor Sock. I apologize for the crappy picture - I was in a hurry and the gray snow-filled clouds didn't help matters a bit.
I really love this yarn - the colors are so fun, and I like the pattern. Pretty basic, but more fun than just ribbed. The magic loop is simple and quick once you get the hang of it. These socks are going to be fun to knit and fun to gift.
Have a great day. It's snowing like crazy here, but I might just use that as an excuse to leave work early. We'll see how the day goes.
Posted by Stephanie at 9:47 AM | Comments (14)October 7, 2005
A Sock Is Born
The last couple of days have been beyond crazy. I think it started yesterday with the fire drill in my office building that didn't turn out to be a fire drill. There was some sort of electrical short that fried the computer server. When we finally got back into the building we couldn't access any of our documents on the shared drive. The computers weren't back up until this morning, which made the crunch to get that memo done that was due before lunch more like an all out panic. Ah well, those little crisis are what make life interesting (I delivered it with 30 minutes to spare). The good news is that while I was sitting outside waiting for the firemen to clear the building I started the Gryffindor Sock.
This is the progress I made sitting outside and at lunch. The magic loop took a little getting used to, but it seems easy and I'm not getting any weird ladders, which is a good thing, right?
I worked on the turtleneck of Frieda while I watched Alias last night and I have to tell ya, it makes my hands hurt. I don't really know why, but maybe it has something to do with the 12" circular. Any thoughts on that?
I'm still hopeful that I will get Frieda finished this weekend, but that might be overly ambitious since my in-laws are coming this weekend. One thing is for sure - I'll get more done on the sock because I'm going to the Cowboy's football game with my mom and mom-in-law. Prime knitting time if you ask me.
Have a great weekend and remember to take time to sit and knit a bit.
Posted by Stephanie at 3:43 PM | Comments (9)October 6, 2005
Movin' Along
Despite going for a run in the freaking cold and helping Travis blow out the sprinkler lines, last night was fairly productive - surprise, surprise. I finished Frieda's second sleeve at lunch yesterday, so I needed to block the sleeves. It was a good thing the front and back were dry because they got kicked off the blocking board.
I seamed the shoulders and blocked the sleeves.
Seaming the front and back at the shoulders allowed me to start on the turtleneck, so I got out my trusty crochet hook and picked up stitches (some were still live, which made the process a lot easier) - 84 in all and I only had to pick up 32. Still, I don't like picking up stitches b/c I never end up with the right number and then when I look at what I've done I see a hole or something and have to go back and do it over - very frustrating. I only knit about 2 rows, but the ribbing should go quickly. The bad thing is that it's too big to haul around now, so Frieda is limited to at home knitting. I hope I can finish her by the end of the weekend, but we'll see.
In light of the fact I can't bring Frieda to work, it's time for another project. Isn't that sad! I need to finish Ronnie, and I plan to start the front as soon as Frieda is finished, but for now I believe I'll start some socks!
The pattern is Conwy from Knitting on the Road, the yarn is Harry Potter Gryffindor from Sunshine Yarns, and the method is Magic Loop. These socks will be a birthday gift for a friend so sneaky knitting will be required. She doesn't read my blog, but I commute with her so I will work on Ronnie in her presence and the Gryffindor socks will stay home or be lunch knitting. I think this method will make the gift a surprise and allow me to finish 2 gift projects. I've decided that I must finish Ronnie before I start Butterfly - which I really want to do - bribery generally works as a motivator for me, so....
Riley agrees that bribery (for him it's treats) works for just about anything.
Have a great day. Happy Knitting.
Posted by Stephanie at 8:33 AM | Comments (19)
