Storage, Socks, and Shoes

YARN STORAGE

I've decided to act on my opinion that sock yarn is too pretty to keep in bins and made a trip to Target.  I got some Itso cubes and rearranged my stash.

The bottom two cubes hold non-sock yarn, needles, notions, and some knitting related books.  I'm hoping I don't regret leaving the yarn out in the open like this, but it's so much better than having them stuffed in bins in the closet.

I also got some shoe cubbies to organize our shoes instead of just throwing them in the closet.  It was a mess...

SHOES?!

I went to a local shoe store that sells brands like Keen and Dansko to look for that perfect mary jane shoe to wear with my hand knit socks.  I didn't get anything because the saleslady told me their fall inventory will be on sale in a couple of weeks.  If I wait, I'll have a bigger selection.  I don't have a problem with that.  I wore socks made with different yarns to test drive the shoes.

I think I should just do this more often anyway because it's fun.  No pressure on getting that second sock finished.

Plain Vanilla: Now With Color!

I frogged the Kristi socks.  The Acero splits too much for a project like Kristi, which is loaded with small cables.  I tried to persevere through it, but a few days ago I realized I haven't knit anything for two weeks.  Frogging the Kristi socks immediately fixed the problem.

Here is a progress photo of the 'Sekrit Project'.  The Ella Rae Superwash and soft and the project itself is almost mindless.  There are a few cables thrown in to keep it interesting.

I sort of hard an epiphany after frogging the Kristi socks.  I have a lot of variegated sock yarn.  A lot...  In fact, I should probably sell some (No, that wasn't my epiphany).  I don't want to sell any of it; a lot of it I picked out with Jake and I remember how almost each skein was purchased.  Picking out a perfect pattern for my sock yarn, especially when its variegated, is frustrating me.  I'm tired of trying.

I'll just knit plain vanilla socks.  No worrying about the pattern being lost in the coor and I don't care so much about pooling or identical socks.

I recently purchased some Creatively Dyed Calypso yarn from The Loopy Ewe.  I picked up the Promise colorway from the Calypso line.  I'm going straight to her booth at the Midwest Fiber Fair; I love her colors and she's really nice.  I started a Yarn Harlot plain vanilla sock and am enjoying knitting again.

 

The truth is that I had to frog my first attempt and start over again.  I was getting 9 stitches per inch instead of the 7.5 suggested on the ball band.  I had to add an extra tweleve stitches to cast on in order to compensate.

Is anyone else going to the Midwest Fiber Fair?

Starting to Shape Up

So after knitting those 36 rows I totally missed in the instructions, the back of my Rogue pullover is now even with the front and I could bind off the shoulders together.

I even tried it on and it fits fine so far.  I'm very pleased with my work on this.  I'm still terrified of seaming it all up later.  

This is why an upcoming project will be the V-Neck Man's Pullover from Knitting Pure and Simple.  No seaming!  Jake picked out some Rustic Wool for the project and it's really soft.  I'm in the process of swatching it now.

No, this nothing to do with my Sekrit Project.  That project still remain sekrit.

I have cast on for the May Sockdown project.

When I'm done, my sock should look just like the one on the cover of Sock Innovations.  A sock pattern that shares the same name as me AND has cables.  I couldn't resist signing up for the sockdown.  I'm also glad I learned to read charts early in my knitting career.

The semester is winding down; one more week of class and then finals.  I will be taking Intro to Plant Biology this summer so I can keep my student employment.  I want to get my biology out of the way anyway.  I don't have too much of an issue with dissecting plants.

A Gaming Site & Photos of the Consolation Kit

Storytime!

Before I went back to college, I worked for a few months in Volition QA.  I was testing Red Faction Guerrilla; I worked with art and activities, but mostly audio.  This meat that I wrote bugs for my husband, which was cool.  We had a really great time working together, even though stress was high

There weren't many women at the company. In QA specifically, there were much more men than women. I worked with two other girls who started a website about gaming recently.  There is also information about zombie survival, but I don't know much about that.  I think Janette would be the expert.

So, check it out!  Thoughts From A (Girl) Gamer

There are actually four contributors to the website.  It kind of reminds me of when I wrote for The Rabid Monkey and UGPO.  That was around 1999.  I really miss working with those guys.

Anyway, I didn't attach any photos of The Loopy Ewe Consolation Kit because people still had not received them.  I think it's safe now; the color isn't true anyway.

It's much darker than this.  More like a wine color. VERY soft.

Here is the entire kit.  The totebag was a surprise; I didn't think they would throw in anything that nice. It's already full of stuff I'm working on.  The pattern, by Wendy Johnson, is nice too.  I don't think I'll use the yarn for it though.  Oh yeah...the yarn. Nugget got ahold of it and shook it up a bit.  Lucky for him, it's still usable...

Janurary Ravelry Sockdown Socks!

I didn't feel compelled to post anything until my second Licorice sock was done.  I've already posted pictures of the first one, so doing the same for the second would seem redundant.  

I finished it yesterday night which means it's time to post!  It also means that I could win a fabulous prize if my name is picked.  There are twelve different prizes to be given away and they are all really nice.  Even if I don't win anything, I now have these awesome pair of socks and I proved that I can knit a pair within two months.  

Here's the stats:

Pattern: Licorice Stick Socks

Source:  The Twist Collective Magazine.  The pattern is $6 and is specifically here.

Yarn:  Dream In Color Starry from The Loopy Ewe.

Colorway:  Dusky Aurora

Needles:  Size 1 bamboo dpns

I memorized the four row pattern repeat after knitting it a few times.  I like the linen stitch heel too; it was a nice change from others I have done.  They fit snugly; overall I am pleased with the outcome. Also, as my husband loves to point out, they sparkle!

So...what now?  I'm going to leave sock knitting behind for now and completely focus on the Rogue pullover.  I also want to re-knit a hat for my husband that he lost in Chicago.  I just need to grab the pattern and get the right kind of yarn.  I'm a broke college student and might hold off until later until I can walk into a yarn shop without crying.

We will get quite a nice tax refund though.  I have to be a good girl and squirrel it away since I'm not making the big bucks as a college student.  

I have been doing other things...like getting more yarn.  I know right?  Why am I getting more yarn if I'm broke?  It all goes back to the Yarn Pirate Booty Club.  It's a GREAT club and the dyer is awesome and super-nice.  She just keeps accidentally sending me more yarn.  That's not why I say she's nice...it has nothing to do with that.  I thought she was nice long before I joined the club.

I tell her every month about the error, but she just tells me to keep it.  I feel pretty conflicted about it; I shouldn't be getting this lovely yarn that she's worked so hard on.  It's pretty yarn that I get to keep though...it's a moral dilemma.

Just look at it.  It's such a weird position to be in.  The top colorway is Plum Pudding, the middle is called Hope, and the last is Daffodilly.  

When I'm not knitting or stashing yarn, I'm being a human calculator.  I've got to study for algebra and run some calculations for my chemistry lab...so that's all for now!