January One -- Sock Hop Socks
August 03, 2006
It's A Kind of Magic
I left the house yesterday.
I also did some work - I really really did. But most of the time, when I wasn't trying to keep myself from falling into a coma from this armegeddon type heat, I knit my magic socks. Yesterday I said I loved them with the intensity of a burning star exploding through the universe - that was putting it mildly. In this world, there are few things I love more than my Sock Hop American Pie Knee Highs. Look at this fabric!
I may never knit anything other than handspun again. Seriously. I want a sweater made from this. And the pattern I'm using? FANASTIC! The sock fits beyond perfectly. I have so much more confidence in the whole decreasing/increasing getting things to fit area. Like maybe I could make a sweater and figure out all the numbers and have it fit perfectly. Like my sock. Which hugs my calf in a way that should really be illegal. Especially in this heat.
So, I pretty much knit on the sock yesterday - with some work interspersed between decreases. I'd knit a decrease (five rows) and then do some work. Then knit a decrease, etc. until I was pretty much decreasing and not working. I've got one decrease left to get me to my normal 64 stitches - somewhere somehow (not a big surprise, trust me!) I messed up either the math or my decrease counting because my hatch marks say 15 decreases and the way I calculated it I was supposed to have 17. So we'll see what happens when I knit the second sock. As of today's weigh in, I've got 1 oz of yarn left and I'm not quite to the point where I will be ready to start the heel. I think I'm going to knit until the heel, and then start on the the second sock. I doubt I will knit that as fast as I knit this one - even though I will still be loving the socks like a schoolgirl alone with her Tiger Beat - but knowing that I will be waiting on yarn to finish them will probably slow me down a little. Teyani and I have discussed a few options - but some may take longer than others, so we shall see.
I DO believe these socks are magic. They may not give you a boob lift (for that you might want to check out Norma's t-shirts) but I believe that by their mere proximity they helped me last night.
I'll set the scene for you. It's 10:51pm. G asks me to pick him up from work since he misses me and the big project is keeping us apart. Still feeling guilty about not getting off my ass to get the mail the other day, I put on clothes that cover all the important spots, flip flops, grab my sock and my keys and head out the door. It's 11pm and I can barely breathe once I'm in the outside air. Oppressive is being kind. I get in my car and turn the airconditioning on - which by the way works GREAT! I had the heat on by the time I was out of my parking space. I head into Manhattan. I haven't driven the dream machine in a while so we're getting reacquainted.
When I get out of the Lincoln Tunnel the temperature thingamajig on the dash reads 101°. Seriously. It drops down to 96° by the time I'm at 40th and 8th. I'm doing the usual NYC dodge and burn with the taxi cabs when I hear the half siren behind me. Blurp. Blurp. I look out the rearview mirror and don't see anything. No lights. No nothing. The blurp blurps get louder and I pull over to let whatever's blurping go past. That's when I realize I've just been pulled over by an undercover cop car. Right outside the New York Public Library no less. The shaaaammmme.
One very young very uniformed officer comes up to my window with his hand on his gun. The other officer stands on the other side of my car with a flashlight beaming into my face. Disconcerting to say the least.
"Why were you swerving like that?" says young cop.
"I was trying to avoid potholes." Seriously - have they driven in Manhattan?
"You weaved in and out back there."
I kind of shrug my shoulders. I sort of know what he's talking about. This fucking cab was pissing me off and I pulled around him and sort of made my own lane. There were 400 cars in line in front of me. I couldn't have been going that fast.
"Can I see your license?"
I start rummaging through my bag on the seat next me - I can never find anything in there in a GOOD moment let alone with a cop with a gun and a flashlight making me sweat. I find my wallet and pull out my license. In the meantime the Spiderman glove that somehow made it into my bag drops into my lap.
"Is this car registered in your name?"
"My husband. Well, it's a lease."
"Can I see the registration?"
I pick up my wallet again and start looking for the registration. I scroll through all of my old driver's licenses and finally get to the registration.
"Why do you have so many driver's licenses?"
"For the pictures. The old pictures. They're all the same license." I hand the cop the licenses. He hands them back without saying anything. He takes my license and registration and goes back to the car.
I'm sitting there cursing myself. I cannot afford a ticket. Funny thing - I ALWAYS wear my seatbelt. I feel naked in a car without it. The minute I pulled over and knew I was being stopped I took off my seatbelt. Isn't that weird? I guess I thought I was going to have to get out or something. While I was sitting there waiting, I put it back on.
A few minutes later they come back to my car - hand on gun, partner with the flashlight - and the young cop tells me to drive more slowly and more safely and sends me on my way. No ticket. As I pull away, I see the flash of an addi turbo in the streetlight. The sock. Protecting me. I believe in magic.
Posted by Cara at 10:12 AM | Comments (0)
August 02, 2006
Shut In
I haven't left my house in two days. That's not really even close to a record for me, but yesterday I didn't even venture to the lobby to get the mail. G was pissed when I remembered at midnight last night (incidentally, when he got home from work) and had to go back down to get it. Today, I might have to go out, even though it's likely the hottest day of the heat wave, but I've run out of Mini-Wheats. I think the milk still has another day, but without Mini-Wheats, what's the use?
You know, nothing says start another project like laying out all your unfinished projects and taking a picture of them all together so that's exactly what I did.
Knee highs, in Sock Hop yarn, American Pie colorway. I love them with the intensity of a burning star exploding through the universe. The only thing is that I am increasingly worried that I won't have enough yarn so I am weighing the remaining yarn after like every three rows. It's a little bit crazy. I'm toying with the idea of emailing Teyani and asking if they have any undyed matching roving and spinning up some white stuff to use on the toes and the heels. Or trying to find a blue that sort of matches for the toes and heels.
I found this website yesterday that gives directions for making knee highs - you just have to fill in all your numbers, and Margene was gracious enough to walk me through the math. I don't like math - especially knitty math. I would love to take a class on knitty math. I've already started the decreases on the sock and I've got 1 7/8 oz left. I was trying on the new sock with my just finished sock hop sock on my foot and I was trying to use 3/4 oz for the "new" part up my leg and have 2 oz left for the rest of the sock - the part that matches the old sock. But I've got a ton more stitches on the new sock, although no ribbing and I suspect ribbing takes up more yarn than straight stockinette, but I'm still worried. As I said, I love these socks more than anything and I know my heart is a fickle bitch, but that's how it is.
And even though I've gotten like a third of the sock done (or god forbid LESS) I think they look super cute and dare I say sexy on my leg. I can just tell they are going to look damn fine when they are finished and I'm going to wear them around my house with G's old work shirt on and I will be cute and fine and SEXY. Like ten years younger sexy.
And then maybe I will get back to losing some weight and do stuff around the house more and clean and cook and be ambitious about finding new photography work and make some money and clear my head of obsessive thoughts and be all zen about my life and then one morning I will wake up and slip on my fanfuckingtastic socks and I will suddenly have the courage to unfreeze those totsicles and get pregnant and have the perfect life.
God I hope I don't run out of yarn. There's a lot riding on these socks.
Posted by Cara at 09:36 AM | Comments (37)
August 01, 2006
Stop this - it's got a hold on me. I said this ain't the way it's supposed to be.*
The move went well in that all the stuff from the old house is in the new house and no one died. Success! There was another Ikea incident that I'm not going to tell you about because when I talk or think about it I get simultaneously weepy and irate. So consider yourself lucky.
Anyway, I don't know what you people do when it's 2841° F (that's 40° for you metric folk) but I knit socks. Preferably handspun wool socks!
How funny is this? I totally forgot what this colorway was called and when I was saving the pictures I remembered - Sock Hop HEATWAVE! HAHAHAHAHA!
I really really like these socks. (And when you're done telling me how FANTASTIC my socks are - go tell Yahaira! She made the same ones! I LOVE IT!!)
So much so I started a new pair yesterday. I was reading The Yarn Harlot the other day and she mentioned this pattern - Widdershins - from the new Knitty - it's toe up socks WITH a heel flap. I've tried a short row heel and frankly, I don't like it. I'm a flap girl. So I tried this toe up thing - if I can have a flap, why not? I spent the WHOLE day, and when I say the whole day I mean pretty much the entire time I was awake, trying to do these socks toe up. I tried the Magic Cast On - at least five times. I tried Wendy's short row method like ten times. And I wound out the day with Purly's YO method. Suck. Suck. Suck. So at about 7PM I said fuck it and started the sock top down. Sometimes you just have to know when to say when and not reinvent the wheel. I like how I knit my socks - I have a formula that works FOR ME - so I'm going to stick with it.
The YARN! Let's talk about the yarn I'm using. It's Sophie's Toes Sock Yarn from Emily Parsons, who, by the way, just happens to be a TV Star! (I saw the episode and Emily was great - her quilts are breathtaking!) When all the prizes were rolling in for Spin Out, there were a number of yarns that I had never seen before - they were all wonderful - but Emily's new sock yarn really stood out for me. The yarn was nice and soft - and the colors were phenomenol! She's been dyeing her own fabrics for quilting for quite awhile and decided to branch out to dyeing yarn. The colorway above is called Favorite Jeans and I tried to show it, but there's a faint hint of purple in there. It's beautiful. After knitting and ripping a million times the yarn is almost too soft, if that's possible. At least maybe for socks. Here are the other two colorways I bought:
That's Campfire on the left, and Garden Party on the right. Beautiful stuff.
I've been thinking a lot about socks - having a new pair on my (very airconditioned) feet yesterday made me remember how much I love them - so I thought I'd take out all of the unfinished socks I have floating around.
In a complete coincidence, this picture works for Scout's new UFO meme.
These are not my only UFOs - not by any stretch.
That's four singles, five on the needles - actually six if you count the one I started yesterday and I have no freaking clue what I'm going to do with all of these. Well - I know I will (eventually) finish the two jaywalkers - the pink picot edge pair mate is already started. The others, well, your guess is a good as mine. I'm not in love with any of them. In fact, I've been really inspired by Melanie's socks lately - I just love the simple goodness of them. They seem like they are squishy comfortable and just the thing you want on your feet when it's finally cool.
Truth be told, I think I'm going to start yet another pair. I'm loving these sock hop socks so much, I think I want to make some more - this time - almost knee socks. In American Pie. I had so much left over from the heatwave socks, it should be no problem yarn wise.
* (Love is Like a) Heat Wave by Martha and the Vandellas
Posted by Cara at 11:51 AM | Comments (40)
May 30, 2006
It's a LOVE Game
So it's "officially" Summer. Summer and I don't get along. Almost all of my mental breakdowns have occured during the Summer. Add to that I hate being hot. ( I'm talking humid city heat not breezy by the sea heat or even dry 2 inches from a pool desert heat.) Also, this is the time when I become a tennis widow. G and I have spent sixteen summers together and every summer that I've known him he's spent the majority of every weekend on the tennis court. In the olden days, when I was young and hot (the sexy kind of heat), with long flowing hair and a twenty yr old body, I used to go to the tennis courts at the park and lay out in my bikini. Yeah. Not so much anymore. That was the first Summer we were together and I was trying to impress. Pretty much every Summer after that one I bitched and moaned and cried when tennis came around. Stay with me. Play with me. Don't leave me alone. As the years went on I would try to find something, anything to occupy my time while he was out doing his raquet thing. And then I found knitting. My Summers are now blissfully free of heat and loneliness and even the breakdowns aren't as bad as they used to be. With the airconditioning set to frigid and a good movie on the tube I can while away the hours while G plays tennis happy as a clam. Now when he tells me he's leaving for the courts, I say see ya! And when he tells me he's sorry he's home late I say, wha? Late? I think, these days, he's actually missing me. ;-)
I was hoping to work on the squares this weekend but I had a problem with the yarn so I'm still waiting. Instead, giving that I'm up to my ears in organizing the SPIN OUT, I thought I should take some time getting reacquainted with my wheel.
Reacquainted my ass. We, my wheel and I, are now inseparable. Bosom buddies. Lovers even.
I finally finished plying the remaining Hot Flash Biffle. If you remember, I was overjoyed at my results with the first Hot Flash plying adventure. This weekend was no different:
I was so happy that I could still ply after my lesson, being as I haven't touched my wheel (I think, literally) since then. In the end things were either overplied or overspun because the skein was pretty twisty when I took it off the niddy noddy, but everything straightened out with a nice wash and hang. I'm very pleased with it and I've got another 8oz.
I have to say though, I was getting sick of Hot Flash, for the time being at least, but I definitely WASN'T sick of spinning. And since I had three days of tennis to get through, I took out some of Amy Boogie's Spunky Eclectic Biffle in the Tahiti colorway to play with. I've got 12 oz. of this and spun up 4.
This is about as nice as it gets - this fiber is prepared so so well. It just falls apart in strips and you barely have to predraft at all. This is the absolute best spinning I've done to date. The singles were even and thin and the whole time I was spinning it up I was thinking of what I could knit with it. I think I might take a page from Wendy and make a shawl, but I'm not sure I'll have enough. I'm still not sure how to figure out how much yarn I have - you know - that pesky math. I counted 65 strands when it was hanging - so do I multiply that by 4, then multiply that by 18", the size of my niddy noddy? Anyway, I love this stuff and therefore you will see lots of nice pictures.
Gorgeous, isn't it? Tonight I'm going to ply up what's left on the bobbins and then start spinning more. The most important thing to come out of this weekend is that I definitely feel like I've conquered Biffle (Blue Faced Leicester) and am ready to move onto something a little more difficult. I'm not sure what yet, but I may tackle some of the merino in my stash to see how things go. I'm going to need to learn Merino soon because I ordered two different fiber colorways from Teyani so I can spin up my own Sock Hop socks!
Speaking of which, when I wasn't spinning I was knitting on my Heat Wave sock.
I'm still absolutely LOVING this yarn. I think next I'm going to knit up the American Pie colorway - hopefully I'll have a pair in time for July 4th.
SPIN OUT stuff continues! I had a great talk with Linda Cortright today, the editor of Wild Fibers Magazine. She asked me to write an article about the event! And photograph it! We're getting a page in the magazine. How COOL is that!? She also offered up three subscriptions as prizes. If you haven't seen it already, there are amazing prizes to be had in the Raffle benefiting Heifer International. I started the raffle in conjunction with the SPIN OUT, but they are two separate things. The registry will close on June 30th - a week after the SPIN OUT. You don't have to come to the SPIN OUT to participate. You don't have to spin to participate. All you have to do is spend (at least) $10 on a great cause and you will have a chance to WIN lots of FANTASTIC prizes. I'm adding new prizes everyday and right now I have more prizes than I have potential winners. I'm hoping you can all help me change that. Go HERE for all the relevant information. Thank you so much.
Car news soon. Like tomorrow. The pictures are taken I just have to work on them a little bit.
Have a great day!
L, C
Posted by Cara at 04:55 PM | Comments (29)
May 25, 2006
I FEEL the NEED for SPEED!*
Last night G picked me up at the train station and I hopped into the driver's seat. Man I love our new car. It is SO MUCH FUN to drive. We took the long way pretty much everywhere, having fun getting lost, and ended up at Houston's for our favorite ribs. I don't care if they're not authentic or whatever the rib experts might say, they are the best ribs I've ever had. The meat melts right off the bone. The bbq sauce is tangy and sweet with just a little kick. They give you a shitload of ribs. Everything about the meal is perfect from the salad to the fries and coleslaw and lemonade. Ribs at Houston's never fail to disappoint. (Thanks M!)
Then I was back in the driver's seat and we were heading to the brand new Tpike exit right near our house that has a sick ass hairpin turn preceded and followed by two great straight aways. Except for early in the morning, barely anyone uses the exit so I was able to swing a uie so we didn't have to pay the toll (and also ride it twice.) On the second straight away I got the car to 95. G was encouraging me to hit 100, but I was nervous. Once the car gets it's first ding and I've settled into it, 100 mph will be a thing of the past. The car is only slightly less practical than the Acura Legend we used to own; I'm pretty sure we can't fit a baby seat in the back. (No. I'm not pregnant.) But luckily for me the same car comes in a station wagon. ;-)
Have no fear. All will be revealed soon. Suffice it to say I know what my "J" will be.
Fun, crazy times at my sister's. She getting ready to put her house on the market so things are in upheaval - but I got to spend some quality time with all the kids - alone and together. My sister's new house is GORGEOUS and I'm equals parts jealous and ohmygod moving is the most stressful thing ever. I was glad to help a little bit at least.
I did manage to get in some knitting time. Voila! A finished sock!
Well, actually, almost finished. I don't like the toe and am about to rip it for the third time. I've grown used to at least 12 stitches at the toe to kitchener - blame the jaywalker - and the toe right now is too tight and pointy for me. So I've got to go back and add a few rows before I start decreasing.
I LOVE the sock though! These are going to be super toasty in the winter. I knit the ribbing on Addi 2s and the rest on Addi 1s and the fabric is nice and dense and soft and they're just beautiful. I can't imagine knitting anything other than stockinette with this yarn, as I hate ribbing in general and especially in socks and I wouldn't want a pattern to take away from the beauty of the yarn and the stitches. I did engage a teensy design element though:
I don't like when stockinette socks just go right into the toe from the foot without stopping. Let's call it Gold Toe Syndrome. I love when you stop a pattern then do the toe in stockinette. It just looks like the way it's supposed to be. So I added a garter stitch ridge to my toe on the row before the decreases. I kind of like it. Nice delineation without interfering with anything really. It's like only I know it's there. ;-) I never claimed to be sane.
And look at what was waiting for me when I got home!!!
More Sock Hop Yarn from Crown Mountain Farms and Teyani! LOOK AT ALL THAT BARBERPOLEY GOODNESS!!! From left to right we've got Pink Cadillac (um hello? Bruce?), American Pie and Say A Little Prayer. I beg you to click on the picture so you can see it bigger. This yarn is just amazing. I'm thinking I need one in every color for sure. I'll be casting on for my second Heat Wave sock today. Or maybe one of the new colors and I'll do my patented alternating color second sock thing. (Teyani mentions on the blog that they're currently out of stock, but you can send her an email to inquire when it will be back in. Patience! This stuff is awesome and completely hand made. Can't rush genius!)
Today should be a great day. I'm expecting my yarn for my squares and my Amazing Lace project. Oh and check back later for a HUGE annoucement. I also hope to have the Ombre winners sometime soon. Got to get an email out to Ann and Kay. Thanks everyone! Have a great day!
*My use of this movie quote in NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM endorses the movie, or said star of the movie, because in reality I think he's a wacko that's been brainwashed by the aliens he professes to know and really an anal probe is being too kind.
Posted by Cara at 09:38 AM | Comments (35)
May 20, 2006
Sock Hop!
Yesterday I spent a very lovely afternoon in the company of my Ann and Kay. As you can imagine, there was much laughing. Apparently laughing is essential on the Core Program. It's got like negative points. We got lost in the rain in Soho, did some fabric shopping (I'm not naming names but someone might be turning on us knitters) and had an osh. I want you all to know that one of my companions called my squares crap, while the other gave me a heady thumbs up on my progress. Again. I'll let you decide who's who.
Kay had to leave us so Ann and I killed some time walking the space of one block in 45 minutes (that girl is S L O W!) We found some cool stuff at Girl Props. I tried on a WAY cool tiki girl necklace and Ann found some piggy barettes. Ask her to model them for you. Then we hit Kid Robot where I bought Ann this super awesome piggy car. Ask her to show it to you.
After all this hobbling about, it was time for the main event! Wendy Knits was reading at The Point! It was great to see Wendy again - I think she'd agree that I was in a MUCH better mood last night than I was in Maryland and it was super fun to sit and knit and meet people! Wendy was wearing her Grape Arbor Shawl which might just become a must knit. Beautiful! I might have talked her into Rhinebeck too. Blogless Margaret greeted me like a dear old friend and I'm embarassed to say I didn't recognize her name from the comments. I read every comment I get and appreciate them all, but sometimes it's hard to remember everyone! I'm sorry Margaret! Thank you for laughing at my blank stare! I got to meet the famous Bakerina Ann's always talking about! Fabulous girl. I got to talk to Snow! On the phone! (Gotta love the Internet!) There were lots of others and again, I'm sorry if I can't remember everyone's name, but it was great knitting with all you girls. We'll have to do it again soon!
One of the best parts of the night though was watching my socks grow! I'm in LOVE!
I had ripped them out early in the morning because I'm an ass and I never remember that while I like the leg of the sock on 1s, I like the ribbing on 2s. But I was quickly on my way and I can't stop knitting these socks! It's the only thing keeping me sane(ish) while I wait for my squares yarn! Look at the stripey rusticy goodness! Can you stand it?
The yarn reminds me of the Trekking that everyone loves so much only a million times better. First off, it's tons softer. These socks are super cozy. I was so surprised when I tried it on last night. The fabric is nice and dense and I love the natural irregularities of homespun. I'm hoping when I get back from my sister's I'll have a finished sock. That's the goal at least.
I love it so much I went home last night and bought three more colorways. Thanks Teyani! You've got a wonderful product here!
Oh yeah. And we got the new car. ;-) Ask Ann. She'll tell you all about it. I'm off to the train station! Have a good weekend!
Posted by Cara at 08:55 AM | Comments (30)
May 19, 2006
0.592592592592592592592
Yes. I really did put the squares in the sand. G was a bit freaked out about this and wanted to know which was the most important when he had to grab them up lest they drift into the sea to be lost forever. I said don't worry. If they get wet they get wet. The yarn will dry. And the likelihood of them being lost in that crystal clear water was pretty slim and you know what? It's yarn. That I knit. It's not so precious. They're squares for a blanket that should be used and loved and abused and it will last and if it doesn't I'll knit another one. At the heart of it, isn't knitting a functional USEful craft? You need to use the stuff, not put it under glass. (Okay - maybe when it's 100 years old and I'm dead and famous my family can leave it to a museum and put it under glass with the picture on the beach beside it, but not now.)
Before I left I couldn't stop knitting squares, as you know, and I continued to knit pretty much through the entire vacation. After the first day on the beach I came up with a goal: six squares finished. Half the blanket. So I knit and I knit and I ran out of the dark green and moved onto the solid color squares and then I ran out of almost all the medium green so I knit my last square and had just enough left over for the middle of the 8th square. Hence the number in the title. That's how much I've finished.
Borrowing from Lauren, I have the light sections to do. I've used all the green yarn I have and Tina's going to make me some more and I love this project. The light green (limestone) seems to be knitting at a bigger gauge than the rest of it, so the squares where the light green is on the outside are a bit wonkier, but overall I think it's FABULOUS. I originally thought it would be a test and then a gift and now I don't know if I can part with it. Especially since I might find bits of sand in some of the squares every now and then and it will remind me of Anguilla. That would be really nice all cuddled up on a snowy winter night. Wouldn't it? Could you give it away with memories like that knit into it? We'll see.
While I wait for my new yarn to come, I've started a new sock. I'm taking a page from the genius that is Eunny and I'm not sure if I'm going to continue the socks I have on my needles right now so I started a new one. Shut up. I am SO allowed. Anyway, they're going to be plain old sockinette socks because it seems all I can do these days is knit. But when I say plain old I'm totally lying.
What you're seeing there in the crappy dark picture above (Sorry! No Anguilla light today. Only gray rain.) is HAND DYED, HANDSPUN SOCK YARN! Can you BELIEVE it! It's all freaking BARBERPOLE! My heart can barely take it. Where did I find such gorgeous yarn? Well, the other day I was reading over at Amanda's and she posted a picture of this new sock yarn she bought and my heart actually DID stop so I rushed over to Teyani's to see if she had any left and thank god she did. The yarn is from Crown Mountain Farms and Teyani calls it Sock Hop yarn. All of the colorways are named after 50s Tunes. I bought Heard it Through the Grapevine (on the left in the picture above) and Heat Wave. I've started a sock in that. Can I tell you? THIS is what I want my spinning to be. I want to spin my own barberpole sock yarn. I fear I'm a long way off from this endeavor, but in the meantime, I'll take one in each Sock Hop color! Thank you Teyani!
Thanks for all the entries in the MDK Peaches & Creme contest! It's closed now and the entries are all really great (read them - seriously - they are so funny!) I'm going to have a hard time narrowing it down to ten. I'll announce a winner when I get back. Yes. I'm off again tomorrow. I know. Just when I'm back I'm off - but absence makes the heart grow fonder, right? My grandmother's 85th birthday party is on Sunday and it's been planned for a while now so I'm going down to help my sister and visit with the family. I'll be back sometime on Wednesday and I'll try to check in before then. It gets kind of crazy down there so no promises. Orignally our vacation was planned for the first week of May so I didn't think I'd be gone back to back, but there it is. See you on the flip side! Have a great weekend!
Posted by Cara at 11:50 AM | Comments (20)