Keeping out of trouble

In early October, I had knee surgery - nobody's idea of a good time, but I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get a jump on all my Christmas knitting. After all, this was how I spent 10 hours+ per day:

No brainer to get all that knitting done, right?  Not exactly.  I was in far more pain than I expected, and I had a difficult time overcoming the effects of  both the anesthesia and the prescription pain killers, so I was far less productive than I had envisioned.  It also did not help that everyone and their brother came to visit, and very few of them were knitters, so I had to focus on talking to them rather than knitting, because it was too hard to do both.


Despite this, I did get a few things started:

This pattern is the Iced Aqua Scarf by Julie Farmer, in the Fall 2014 Love of Knitting.  Obviously, I did not choose an iced aqua yarn - this is Caron's Simply Soft Paints, in Oceana.  I loved loved loved the colorway, and I loved that it was on sale at Joanne for $2.99 a skein.  I bought 3 - 2 of the same dye lot for the scarf, and another to make myself a hat.  I decided this would be my Winter 2014/2015 hat & scarf project - two years ago I used another Caron yarn to make a pretty purple basketweave scarf, complete with fringe.  I love that the yarn can go in the washer and the dyer.  With all the handknit socks around the house, flat drying space is at a premium some weeks after I do laundry.


Speaking of socks, I also managed to start, and finish, a pair for myself:

I decided these would be my Thanksgiving socks, because they have the right shades of yellow, red, brown & orange and remind me of those childhood construction paper turkeys we all did in school.  The yarn is Decadent Fibers Savory Sock yarn, made by Decadent Fibers out of Kinderhook, NY.  I bought it last year at the New England fiber festival - it was part of that sock yarn-a-palooza that happened:

That's it over there on the bottom right-hand side.  I do love how they turned out.


So, that was my 3 week knitting extravaganza.  Note that not one of the projects was actually a Christmas gift.  I would express remorse, except I've got (or will get) new knit items to keep and wear, so I'm not the slightest bit sorry.  Except that I now have to knit twice as fast for the holiday items.

Why I don't block

One of the key components in most knitting patterns comes right at the end, where the pattern writer tells you to bind off your knitting and "block."  I have never blocked.  It's simply not my thing.  Everything I've ever read about it told me I needed to soak my knit item (shudder - what if the colors run & it's a gift on deadline?) then pin it flat and allow it to dry.  I have successfully avoided that for the nearly 20 years I have been knitting.

Until now.  I finished a scarf this week for my cousin's husband A, he of the pestering-knitters-on-the-commuter-railroad story from November.  I saw him just after Thanksgiving, and he was wearing his hat.  The family tells me he wears the hat a lot - to work, indoors, on weekends - and he proudly showed me a black scarf he was wearing that, ".....almost matches this fantastic hat!"  Because I cannot keep my mouth shut, ever, I blurted out that the hat had a matching scarf pattern, and was he interested?  Say, after Christmas?  Of course he was!

I forgot how much I hate knitting scarves, but I persevered.  75" at 31 stitches per row doesn't sound like much until, well, you spend 2 weeks, 2 hours a day, knitting it.  This scarf is a physical manifestation of proof that you do not have to be a blood relation for me to love you.  Quite honestly, the fawning over the hat pretty much cemented his ability to get whatever knit item he wants, now or in the future.  Except maybe a sweater.

Anyway, finished the scarf and it curls up on both edges, pretty significantly.  So I knew my day of reckoning had come - I was going to have to block a piece.  I was not looking forward to it, but at least remotely confident because after all, this is a completely black item so if the color ran, it would not ruin the garment. 

First step, into the sink:

I soaked it in Eucalid (per the instructions) for 15 minutes, then squeezed all the water out of it.  No color seepage, so that was good.

Then, the hard part - laying it flat to dry and pinning it.  Which makes my dining room floor look like this:

The good news is, if I was a little short on that recommended 75", I have it now.  But blocking doesn't really show the pattern all that well, as you can see here:

It looks like the hat, though, so that's all that counts. 

You might notice to the left of the scarf a very small knit strip - this is a piece that goes on A's wife's hat, that also curled once knit, so I decided to block that as well.  You can see a little better how I pinned the pieces on that one:

So that's a close-up photo of what I did to that 75" scarf to block it.  Every few inches. It was tedious.  My instincts to avoid blocking were totally correct.  But now that I've done it, I have no excuse not to do it in the future.

Speaking of that little piece for M's hat, this is what the finished product looks like:

On my head, of course, not hers.  The pattern is called Capitan by Rosi Garmendia and my friend Dorothy says this is a hat that makes everyone look cool.  Guess what?  Not me.  I was so excited to knit myself one after this and then I put it on to check the button placement and discovered I look like an idiot in this hat.  Which is a total bummer because I can use all the help I can get to look cooler.  I still think I'll make a couple more - one for M's sister J, and my college best friend.  All women who can rock hats, apparently better than me.

It has to get cold again eventually, right?

It feels like all my projects are moving forward in slow motion lately, probably due to the amount of time I am spending on the garden. And the heat!  Third heat wave of the summer, second of July.  It has been amazingly, uncomfortably hot.  I have finished up a few knitting projects, though. 

First, the shawl from March, finished Sunday night:

It came out great.  It looked very crooked on the loom but when I took it off it relaxed and the rows are straight, which is a relief.  It was also a relief not to have to look at it sitting on the loom every night after 4 months.  I figured out a new way to knot the end threads which makes a much nicer fringe and I'm happy with how it came out.  It's long enough to wrap completely around me and throw over a shoulder, which is convenient.  It also means I can use it as a table runner.  I was joking about that originally and I am slightly amused that it is actually long enough.  I know that there is a way to plan out a project with measurements, warping, etc., but I just eyeball it, warp the loom and go.  Maybe some day I'll plan out a project fully.  Of course, I've always said, "Maybe some day I'll block my finished knitting," and it hasn't happened in 17 years, so there you go. 

I also finished the scarf version of the Socrates gloves:

I ended up using 3 skeins for the scarf, and knitting the first four rows of the rib pattern over and over again to make the scarf.  I am pretty sick of this pattern right now, so even though I have 3 skeins of the yarn left and vague plans to make a matching hat, I have stashed that yarn for the time being.

Also on the needles - socks for Halloween:

I started these socks on July 5 and will probably have them finished by this Friday, which is two weeks and a new record.  Because I am using the Classic Socks pattern (again) I have discovered that I can actually read my Kindle while knitting at the same time.  As much as I like patterned socks, being able to multi task is amazing.  (Also a little startling to some of my fellow commuters, who have commented on the knitting-and-reading thing.)  It has been long enough between pairs of socks that I am very excited to be working on them, and plan to start a second pair for myself right after I finish this one.  I almost don't even need the pattern anymore, I've done this pattern so often. I should be thinking about Christmas gifts (and I am) but I decided to focus on myself for a couple of projects since I don't usually start in on the holiday gifts until August.

I am undecided about what to start next on the loom - part of me wants to do a couple of scarves, for gifts, and part of me wants to take another crack at making a blanket because winter is coming.  The irony is that I was finally motivated to finish the shawl because I was tired of looking at it, and now the loom has been empty for almost 48 hours and it's driving me crazy.  I know a scarf or two would be a fast turn around project which might be fun (and would give me more items for these blog posts), but then I think about how cold it was this winter, and all the yarn a blanket project would use up, and I'm tempted.  Such decisions.

Scarves for All

Seriously.  I finished yet another holiday gift in just a week:

Not quite the true color, but close

I bought this yarn last year thinking it would make a lovely scarf.  Very true.  I chose a pattern by Margaret Radcliff called "Winter Windows Silk Scarf."  The original pattern calls for a very silky, sequined yarn which I am sure is lovely but my aim with creating a scarf was to make something pretty but warm & practical for New England, especially since this year is supposed to be very cold and snowy.

The pattern is a basic basketweave, interspersed with yarn-overs to make lacy openings.

It's pretty hard to see them in either photograph, but trust me, they're there.  (Third row up, 2nd & 4th block in, then 6th row up 3rd block in.)  I wanted something with a little detail but again, not so lacy that it was going to let in the bitter New England winter wind.

I am now fully a believer in scarves for all instead of socks.  A holiday gift that takes a week?  I could be completely finished by Thanksgiving.  Sadly, the cousins' children and the Sock Monster would be sorely disappointed.  I will, however, be making myself a scarf and hat set after the holiday knitting is finished.  Just for the delight in finishing a project so quickly.