Scarves and socks and why I don't buy stash

In the four years I’ve been knitting, I’ve tried almost all there is out there to knit – bags, sweaters, lace shawls, scarves, washcloths, socks and probably a few others. Oh yeah, even felted flowers. It’s kind of funny to me that after trying everything at least once, I’ve pretty much narrowed it down to two favorites – socks and scarves. Pretty basic things, but the things that make me the happiest to knit. And since this is my hobby and therefore pretty much all about me, I guess I’ll knit what makes me happiest. I do have an affinity for lace shawls as well, but let’s be real, how many places do I go that these are even somewhat practical??

Having just finished a pair of socks and started a new scarf, I was musing over what about these things I like and I came up with the following:

Socks

1. They’re portable, which is my #1 craft priority.
2. They’re full of little victories – getting the leg done, the heel turned, the foot…
3. They can be pretty mindless – I’m partial to stockinette.
4. They have very little finishing.
5. They’re a huge hit as gifts.

Scarves

1. I absolutely love wearing scarves in the winter, especially squishy ones – like the Clap.
2. Also portable.
3. It’s fun to try out new patterns/yarn/techniques.
3. They’re also pretty mindless.
4. No shaping and very little finishing.
5. Also a popular gift.

Seems like I have a few prerequisites overlapping here. Funny thing is that I love stockinette socks, but don’t think I could handle a whole stockinette scarf.

The new scarf I started is the Ribs & Ruffles. I actually started it with some of the called for Misti Alpaca I had which has made it through all of my destashing (it’s just soooooo soft), but I want to get a pair of knitpicks size 13 needles (they’re on their way as we speak (or write). I will have to make it a little wider though, since it was pretty skinny as written.

Right now I’m working on this:

It’s the same pattern (with a few tweaks) in Classic Elite Wings. This yarn is why I don’t buy stash. I bought it a few years ago at a Webs sale with no project in mind, and it’s been bugging me ever since. Everything else I buy has a purpose – at least to begin with. Very rarely does the yarn and the original project actual coincide, but I can handle that (see above re: this being all about me). Non-earmarked yarn just makes me twitch. I’ve tried a few projects with it, and haven’t really liked anything. Hopefully this will be “the one”. I like it so far – it’s very squishy and sort of ribbed, but involves no purling (win-win in my book).

I tweaked it by adding 5 garter stitch rows before each decrease to make the ruffle longer and started with 124 stitches which gave me 31 stitches for the body, so it’s a little wider.

In other news…catching your kid’s summer cold really stinks.

My mom the blogger...

My mom has a blog - Debbie's Blog - how weird is that? Every now and then she surprises me and is actually pretty computer savvy. Of course her not-so-savvy moments are pretty funny. Like when she decided to check out "this facebook thing" and somehow ended up in my account sending an e-mail to an old boyfriend of mine - with my name and picture attached. Luckily she at least signed it "Deb" so he knew something weird was going on. The whole situation was a little awkward - funny, but awkward. But then she set herself up on her own page all by her self. Maybe she's getting the hang of all this computer stuff. The best news is that what she can't figure out my dad (the former programmer) will, and then I reap the benefits of that, without having to do the work. A win-win situation!

In craft news...I FINALLY FINISHED MY FRANKLIN SOCK!!! Thank God, I thought this one was going to be the death of me. I do like the end result, although I don't think the fabric is as soft as I would like. Maybe once it gets washed it will be better. I decided to make a pair for Marley next (quicker gratification - she has the smallest feet around here, but not by much. The poor thing has her father's feet). I'm using some knitpicks yarn that was actually the cause of my last non-knitting rut. I wasn't crazy about it, but I figure it'll be better in a smaller sock. I even did a (very little) swatch, but I think they lie. I measured her ankle while she was sleeping (which was interesting, trying not to wake her up) and it was 7". My gauge was 8.5/inch. Which comes out to 60 stitches around. The socks I just made myself were 64 and none too tight. So I compromised on 56 and I'll rib the leg. Hopefully that will work. After knitting so many socks I can't understand while I still have issues with gauge. I have a degree in Chemistry - gauge math shouldn't be such an issue! I even added a square to my sock blanket with the Franklin - I'll try to take some pictures soon, but now I gotta go to bed!

Talk like a pirate - with gas

So Marley has always had this little accent when she talks. I have no idea why, and we are so used to it we hardly notice it anymore. I think it's gotten better, but there are a few sounds she still has trouble with, mostly her "R"s. For instance, most people think she's saying Molly when she says her name is Marley. (As an interesting aside, when Marley was born Toby was attending Ohio State, and there were a few Asian students in his program. They really had trouble with "Marley", I guess for them the R and L sounds were pretty interchangeable. I felt kind of bad, since they really tried hard to pronounce it).

Anyways, we try to work on the sounds when they come up in conversation and the other day in the car we were working on her R's. I was saying "AAARRR - like a pirate" and she was working on it. Of course when I realized what word we were using for this little exercise, I turned to Toby and asked, "how bad is it that we're practicing her Rs on the word FART?” Apparently no bodily function is off limits when it comes to teaching your children how to talk better.

Happily a day or so later I got a call from Marley..."listen Mommy, AAAAARRRRRRRR". Once I figured out what she was saying I was pretty proud. Apparently using pirates with gas as a teaching tool works quite well.

I crafting news…one quilt is pretty much done. I just have to baste down the points on the 2 short sides so they’re straight. Here it is before I added the partial rows, modeling courtesy of Sunny the cat (who was actually quite annoyed with me when I made him get off).




As for the other one, I’m thinking that if my brother ever gets on the ball and actually proposes, this would make a much better wedding shower gift than Christmas. So I’m not going to rush too hard to finish it (I might be a little “quilted out” for now). AND I’m actually knitting again – I’m on the gusset of the second Franklin sock that’s been languishing in my knitting bag forever. I’m also almost done with a pumpkin hat I need by September 4th – plenty of time. I actually made it to Webs for drop in last week, which was great. It’s been too long since I’ve been there.

PS – I’m doing pretty good on my “craft no-buy”. I did have to buy a new pair of DPN’s for the pumpkin hat, since I couldn’t find mine. But with a coupon there were $2.76 at AC Moore. I think the house fund can manage it…speaking of which, only 1 more week to pay for day care!! Yeah!!

Mid-Year Resolution

So Toby and I have been talking lately about buying a house. It seems such a daunting task, but millions of people do it, so we figured why not us? (The most obvious reason of course being that it costs a RIDICULOUS amount of money around here. I’ve seen what house prices look like in different parts of the country. While I know we’re by no means the worst, we’re definitely not the best. Especially if you want a decent school system. But that’s a rant for another day…)

Anyways, I figure it’s time to start cutting costs around here, and the most obvious one for me being all of my craft-related expenditures. I think I’ve been pretty good lately – most spending is done at the beginning of a new obsession, and I haven’t had one of those in a while. But I guess I should still make a little mid-years resolution – No new craft expenses for the rest of the year (!) With 3 exceptions, of course (this is the part where Toby rolled his eyes…)

1. Deleted - super secret project

2. I will probably need more paper templates for the quilt I’m making Mark and Janelle. I think I’ve figured out the way to utilize what I have the most, but eventually I will run out. Seeing these are about $3.50 for 100, I figure I won’t break the bank buying a few more packages.

3. Rhinebeck – I figure this one doesn’t even need any justification. But even so, in the past I really haven't come home with toooo much, comparatively at least, so I figure I’m pretty safe there.

So there it is – and now that it’s out there, hopefully I’ll be able to stick with it! Of course I really need to address a few other areas (namely the fact that we eat out way too much and my new troll bracelet that needs a few more charms), but we’re taking baby steps I guess.

In crafting news…I’m plugging away at both quilts. Here’s where we’re at with Mark and Janelle’s – plus a bunch of partway finished flowers…


I’ve also started 2 baby pumpkin hats for gifts. They always seem to go over well.

I guess I don’t really have this blogging thing down yet. I haven’t quite figured out where people find the time, between working full time, kids and actually doing the crafts they’re blogging about. We've had a family wedding and a while learning to make pickles escapade I wanted to address, but never got around too. Guess I’ll have to work on some time management skills…