Is it just me….?

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Rayna

Or does summer crafting just seem to go a lot more slowly?

Admittedly, this summer in Toronto is uncharacteristically cool…but I still can’t seem to find the energy to do much in the way of, well, anything, to be perfectly honest.

I have been doing bits and pieces of a scarf for my mom, and last week I cast on a hat in MadTosh Vintage for a colleague at work. He has proven himself knit-worthy by wearing (and gushing repeatedly over) a cowl I made him last year.

Watch Cap in Madeline Tosh Vintage in “Baltic”

I did put a new braid of fibre on my wheel – a braid of SweetGeorgia BFL in my favourite of her colourways, “Stormchaser”. (I also have this colourway on Tough Love Sock which I will eventually get to.) I am alternating this with a bobbin of the Humpspun that I started during Tour de Fleece, and my spinning progress seems to be much slower. That is to say, it seems to take a LOT longer to get through a braid. This might be a symptom of finer spinning.

“Stormchaser” BFL

In any case, I am not even through the “fractal” half of the braid yet. But I love the colour so much that I don’t care how long it takes. I want this on every base!

So even though this looks like I am doing a lot, I am really not. My heart’s not really in it and when I am too warm, my energy is just tapped out.

Maybe this boredom is what’s feeding my start-itis that I am fighting, quite valiantly, I might add. Something to consider. What do you do when summer is here or your mojo is just plain out of whack?

Shoulda, woulda, coulda…

Posted on August 1, 2014 by Rayna

I had an interesting conversation with Shireen yesterday that made me stop and think. I mentioned that I was battling a severe case of start-itis, and that the main reason I was not casting on a new Trillian was because I already have three scarves on needles, never mind the two sock designs that I started but have left languishing of late. I said that “I had other things I should be working on”.

Shireen responded to the effect of “that there’s where I went wrong…crafting has become something I should be doing and not always what I want to be doing.” (I am paraphrasing here.)

And I realized that somewhere along the line, I seem to have strayed into that mindset. I think that (for me) it’s that I promise someone I will make them something, and then I feel guilty if I do anything else. I just finished socks for my husband (which have inadvertently turned into a free pattern I am now writing up) and I have promised my mom a fingering weight scarf that I am less than halfway through. By the time you factor in the other half-completed projects that I somehow feel guilty about letting sit in project bags, I feel rather like a Catholic school girl in confession.

I frogged a couple of those WIPs already and I keep looking at the others on my project page, wondering idly “If it’s been on needles for 18 months, am I ever really going to finish it?”

Does it “bother” you to have multiple projects on needles? Or are you the type that never does? (My girlfriend, Caryn, somehow never seems to have more than two or three things on the go at any point, and not shockingly, actually seems to finish things.) If it does bother you, what’s your solution? Do you buckle down and finish them? Or frog them and move on? Do you have an arbitrary time frame in which you know that if it doesn’t get finished, it never will?

Inquiring minds want to know.

FO: Hermione’s Everyday Socks

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Rayna

I think everybody has a “go-to” sock pattern…one they can knit with their eyes closed, or at least without ever having to pick up the pattern. (If you read Knitting to Stay Sane, for example, you know that Glenna C.’s is Jaywalkers!) Hermione’s is mine. The texture keeps it from being as boring as plain sockinette (although as anyone who knows me can attest, I have no objections to knitting plain stockinette in the round!) while being simple enough to be my “knit in coffee shops and in front of the TV” knitting.

I almost feel funny blogging about them, as they are my fifth pair of socks (in 18 months) made with this pattern, but it is the first time I have ever used Fleece Artist Trail Socks. I picked up a skein of November Sky from a Ravelry destash. To this day, I am not sure why – completely not my colour set but I thought it might be nice to break out of my rut.

Now, when I really began knitting less than four years ago, I was one of those that could not understand why anyone would pay so much money for sock yarn. And worse, I liked the stuff with the cashmere…even though it was another $5-$8 a skein. But “oh noes!! Expensive yarn and all that time…to put on your feet?? Are you insane?” Turns out, I was! I blame my friend Liz, and my great teacher, Kate Atherley for making me a sock knitter.

After spending some time actually knitting socks, though, I realized that yes, while the socks with cashmere were yummier and more squooshy, the 80/20 (or 75/25) blends of merino nylon do wear an awful lot better. So I set out to find some good, sturdy-yet-comfy sock yarns. I have tried several but my two favourites so far have been indigodragonfly’s Merino Nylon Sock, and Tanis Fiber Arts’ Blue Label. These two bases are completely different from one another and I like them both for totally separate reasons. Trail Socks feels very much like Blue Label, both while knitting and after the fact. In fact, so similar are they, in the tactile sense, that I’d think they were the same base. However, the yardage stated on the label of each skein suggests otherwise.

In any case, it was quite pleasant to knit with and the resultant fabric is nice and comfy. And I am really in love with the colours. I am looking forward to having these when the leaves start turning.

Pattern: Hermione’s Everyday Socks by Eric Lueder

Yarn: Fleece Artist Trail Socks in November Sky

Who Was It Made For? Me

Were There Changes Made To The Pattern? I don’t even remember what the pattern looks like anymore!

Did I Learn Anything New? No

Anything Else? Not that I recall.

Would I Make Another?: I am sure I’ll have another pair finished by Christmas.

(Photos courtesy of Shireen, over at the Blue Brick!)

FO: Vintage Lace Socks

Posted on June 16, 2014 by Rayna

Earlier this year, my friend Carla launched Georgian Bay Fibre Company, a hand-dyed yarn company that dyes exclusively BFL and BFL blends, and takes its inspiration from the beautiful scenery of Georgian Bay.

Her sister, Christina, also a long time friend, was designing some patterns for her (my favourite kind: socks!) and asked if I’d be so kind as to test knit for her. The first one I tested was a knit and purl design called Squadron Socks; it was a lovely pattern but that pair never got completed as I made a very poor choice in yarn and it really didn’t suit. I plan to knit them again in a semi solid, when I get a chance.

Her second design was a much bigger success for me, and (because?) this time I chose to knit it in Carla’s Kilcoursie Fingering yarn. The colourway I chose was her 2014 Colour of the Year, called Wakefield Lilac, and I could not have been happier with how they turned out.

Vintage Lace Socks have a lovely delicate lace panel down the outside of the foot, front and back, and the result is beautifully feminine. It was a nice relaxing knit, once I was able to memorize the lace pattern. (I don’t immediately see past the single YOs and SSKs to see what the pattern is doing and until then, I rely heavily on the chart!) I did have a heck of a time with the YOs….at least a couple of times a repeat I found myself having to pick up a missed YO…a hazard when one knits lace in front of the TV, I guess 🙂 And the colour is totally reminiscent of the lilacs that grew every spring in my grandmother’s yard.

I always like knitting socks in the summer because it means that come autumn, I have new socks to wear when the weather turns cool 🙂 I am really excited to have these ready to go for September.

Pattern: Vintage Lace Socks by Christina Bossart

Yarn: Georgian Bay Fibre Company’s Kilcoursie Fingering (BFL/nylon blend) in Wakefield Lilac

Who Was It Made For? Test knit/Me

Were There Changes Made To The Pattern? I did make the toe a little wider (the pattern says to stop when there are 8 stitches on each needle, but the top of my foot is somewhat square so I stopped at 10)

Did I Learn Anything New? No

Anything Else? Not that I recall.

Would I Make Another?: Yes

(Photos courtesy of Shireen, over at the Blue Brick!)

On Buying Patterns

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Rayna

So, Shireen and I were chatting the other day about number of patterns sold vs. number of Ravelry projects, and she commented that you could easily have far fewer projects on Rav than you have actual pattern sales.

“After all”, she said, “How many of the patterns that you have purchased have you actually knit?”

A fine question. So in a bit of a lull I seem to be having today, I took a count. I counted all patterns that I had purchased that had actually cost me something. It included collections, but not books, and it didn’t include gifts from friends or from the designer herself. Nor did it include paid patterns that were free due to a promotion or code or similar.

In my few years on Rav, I have personally purchased 84 patterns…and knit/started 13 of them. Two of those were frogged before completion.

So that’s an average of about 1 pattern knit for every 7 I have purchased. In some cases, I didn’t get to it right away, and my taste changed before I cast it on. I bought a hat pattern for Chase who later decided he didn’t love it after all. In some cases, I bought it and when I checked the construction or in the case of a sock, the size of the cast on, it just didn’t suit. And in some cases, the pattern just sits in my queue…waiting.

One in seven. I choose to see it as “supporting designers”.

But I still should get to knitting some of them.

Falling Behind

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Rayna

So, as is always the case when I am not knitting for whatever reason, I was just poking around Ravelry. (I have said countless times that if I spent even half as much time knitting as I spent trolling Rav, I’d be a machine!)

I am experiencing a rare case of finish-itis, and I was looking at my project page to see which WIP to pick up next. I made a startling realization. For the last few years, I have completed 27 or so projects annually. That averages out to 2.25 projects a month. So by my calculations, by the end of May on Saturday, I should have 11.25 completed projects on my projects page. Let’s round that down to 11, shall we?

How many do I have? 7. And that includes a project that’s a single sock – it was a test knit done for my friend Christina, and I didn’t need to finish the second one. So I have to ask myself…what gives?

Yes, I bought a loom and yes, I picked up spinning again. And I have spent more time than I care to admit planning some designs. But all of those new activities were in the past month. Makes me wonder where my winter went!

That being said…I have a pair of socks that I should be able to finish by next week sometime. I’d share an “in progress” pic but they are a sooper seekrit test knit. And I do have three different fingering weight scarves in various stages of completion that I’d like to get back to. This one that I started last fall is high on my list of FOs I’d like to actually have.

Stillwater Zigzag Wanderer

So maybe it will be next out of the WIP bag!

Feeling Rather Scattered

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Rayna

I just realized I had not done any blogging for nearly two weeks. Bad blogger! But I realized that a big part of it was due to not being entirely devoted to one thing…and as such, I didn’t have a specific subject to blog about.

I finished my very first weaving project. (Where project = something about the size of a placemat!) But hey, it’s something!

First Weaving Project

I have warped up my loom again; this time, I have used some Berocco Remix – I am still mostly just practicing and using up worsted weight yarn. I’ll be using some left over Cascades 220 and some Berocco I used to knit Chase a hat a few years ago for the weft. I am looking forward to being able to use fingering and even laceweight yarns at some point. I have a suspicion that some of the two colour stashes that I set aside for shawls may end up woven at some point.

I have been spinning a bit as well…a fractal spin of a blue/purple Friends in Fiber BFL/Silk blend.

$The "fractal" half of a fractal spin!$

The “fractured” half of a fractal spin!

The fractured half is nearly complete – seven of nine pieces spun. Then I get to the half that’s still in one piece. I am looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

I have been knitting a bit…a Hermione’s Everyday sock and a test knit sock for a friend. And I am awaiting an email from a designer about another test knit I have committed to. But I have also started designing. This is a bit of a departure for me. I have had my nose in stitch dictionaries for the past week or so, and have a surprising number of designs in my head, and even a theme for them, if they ever all get done. The first one to make it onto needles is a pair of fingering weight socks, and I have a cowl and a DK weight sock waiting in the wings. The whole experience is pretty fun, I have to admit. Never thought this was something I’d ever try.

All other crafts have had to fall by the wayside…so much to do and so little time! Now, I just need a severe case of “finish-itis” so that some of this stuff actually gets done!

A Knitting Bucket List

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Rayna

So…I was bored the other day and started meandering about in WordPress. A blog post caught my eye…a post by The Mad Knitter called “Knitting Bucket List”. Considering how many things I see and ooh and aah over, I wondered if I really had a knitting bucket list and if I didn’t…perhaps I should. Sadly, while Ravelry has favourites and a queue, it doesn’t really have a spot for that, but I digress.

I think a bucket list should be “stretch” goals. I mean, sure, my queue has lots of things I’d like to knit. That’s what my queue is for. For me, a bucket list would contain patterns that I love that would contain something I deem to be a real challenge for whatever reason.

So I started thinking…what would I put on my knitting bucket list? The very first thing that sprang to mind? The socks that made me become a sock knitter three years ago, and that I still have not got the courage to start: Kate Atherley‘s My Vampire Boyfriend. I fell in love with these the moment that I saw them, all pretty and red and heart-y and cable-y. They are basically Rayna in a sock. Yet…each time I contemplate casting them on, I freeze and cast on something simple instead.

How awesome are these?? (Photo by Sarah Fay from Knitty.com)

On the shawl side of things…I’d have to go with Lucy Hague’s Taliesin. My friend Jocelyne linked to it on a Ravelry board that she and I moderate together and I literally gasped out loud. Now this one, I actually have the pattern for. Shireen decided she was going to knit it and sent it to me as a gift with the three word message, “Misery loves company”, a reflection on how hard it was going to be, not the finished item, of course.

Just look at all that Celtic knotwork! (Photo courtesy of lucyhague.co.uk)

Also on the shawl front is Cheryl Oberle’s Irish Diamond Shawl. I fell in love with this one as my friend Caryn made one years ago and wore it to work with great frequency for a long time. It’s so pretty but SO huge. I expect I’d buy a commercial yarn just so that I didn’t have to worry about obtaining five or six matching skeins of indie dyed yarn to make up the prescribed 2200 yards of yarn. I can’t imagine having to alternate skeins on this pattern.

The last thing on my bucket list? A sweater for me. This is another area in which I have no excuse. I have a code that was a gift from my friend Jenn for a Custom Fit sweater by Amy Herzog, a set of Custom Fit measurements just waiting to be entered into the software and not one but two sweater quantities of yarn. For some reason, I balk at the thought of casting it on. I think I have lived for so long with the fear of spending all that time knitting something that won’t fit, that I can’t bring myself to believe those who say that the Custom Fit software makes all of those fears null and void. I am a knitting wuss…there, I said it. Someday, I’ll get brave enough to start. Today is not that day. Tomorrow is not looking good, either!

So…what’s on your knitting bucket list?

World’s Craftiest Weekend

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Rayna

It’s always fun and relaxing to spend the majority of the weekend crafting, but those full weekends come along far less often than I might like. Getting to spend half that weekend with like-minded friends? That happens even less often again.

Saturday saw all sorts of fun things, including spinning, knitting, weaving and dyeing.

Weaving…where shall I start? First off, I blame Shireen, The Enabler. She has been posting some of the most beautiful FO shots since acquiring her 20″ Ashford Knitters Loom about a month ago, and she has been regaling me with tales of how quickly these lovely items are going from skeins to wearable items. I have a rather substantial number of single skeins of sock yarn and Kim at indigodragonfly has also been telling me for a long time that a great way to use some of these up is to get a loom, but I wasn’t sure weaving would be my thing.

Then, Shireen brought the loom over on Saturday and let me weave some of her leader, so as not to spoil her actual project. I have to say that while I am sure that producing really nice clean looking edges and such takes some practice, the motions of weaving in and of itself really is pretty easy and the little bit I did led me to believe it could almost be as “zen” an activity as spinning. (Disclaimer: I may be somewhat delusional!)

She has enabled me into looking seriously at acquiring a loom…so much so that I got a line on a second hand one by posting on Ravelry to see if someone had one to destash. I will know more next weekend.

Shireen showed up at my place like she was moving in…there was the aforementioned loom, and wonderful Indian food, and decadent chocolate birthday cake for Leslie, but she also brought with her an entire set up for dyeing yarn. I had a skein of yarn that I got in a swap that I was very unhappy with and I decided to overdye it to see if I could improve it. I won’t mention the dyer name because it’s irrelevant and seems kinda uncool. As it was, it took me a while to reconcile myself to doing it as it feels rather like defacing someone else’s art, but I digress.

The photo made it look pretty nice, if not insanely bright. It was at least enticing enough to make me want to claim it in a Ravelry swap.

Original Skein

What was not clear in this photo was that the yellow-y lime sections had navy blue “smudged” over them, almost like the navy bled and stuck to the lime, rendering it sort of “dirty looking”. I figured that perhaps overdyeing the skein with some blue might render the lime colour a darker green and I was right. I kettle dyed the skein in a Crock Pot, using Jacquard acid dyes in a mixture of Sapphire and Turquoise (I didn’t bother to measure as I knew it wasn’t a recipe I’d ever need again). I let it simmer away until the entire dye bath was exhausted, and hung it to dry. Sunday morning, this was the result.

The “After” Shot

I still don’t love it, per se…but I sure like it a whole lot better. Perhaps I’ll knit socks out of it, and then if I don’t love the colourway knit up, I’ll overdye the socks to make them even more green. We shall see.

FO: Sign of Four Socks

Posted on April 24, 2014 by Rayna

So, a while back I mentioned that I have this weird habit of getting super obsessed with a pattern and needing to knit it right. now. Anne Hanson’s Sign of Four was another one of those patterns.

Someone posted a finished object shot of a pair of these on a forum I am part of on Ravelry and it was love at first sight. I had planned a pair of Anne’s Long John Socks for my dad, on her recommendation, but as soon as I saw these I was sunk. I had given Dad a pair of Anne’s Waffle Creams in blue for Christmas and he loved them so much, Mom told me each time they got out of the laundry, he had them on again the minute he could get his hands on them. Since he had requested brown socks (OMG, more brown socks!) I cast on. After all…there is really no better compliment, is there?

As I was knitting I was struck by the fact that the texture was definitely more puffy and “popcorn-ish” than the photos, an effect I was less than pleased with, but I soldiered on, figuring that once they were on his feet, it would not matter. It was an easily memorize-able pattern so it made for great travel knitting.

The first sock went off perfectly, so on the needles went the second, and everything went swimmingly…until I picked up my gusset stitches and went to knit the first stitch of the instep. And it was not the right stitch. The entire pattern had somehow gone one stitch off. One of the stitches has to move at the end of the leg, before the heel flap, and I am guessing in retrospect that I somehow managed to move the wrong one. I decided that, since I was on a bit of a deadline because they were coming to visit…I’d keep going. After all, it’s just texture! Plus, I knew I was the only person in the world who would ever notice (ok, maybe Anne herself might see the mistake!). Far as I can tell, no one else noticed.

Pre-blocked socks

Once they were done, I soaked them and rolled them in a towel to squeeze the water out, before laying them out to dry. As I placed them on the windowsill, I noticed something wonderful…the puffier texture I hadn’t loved was gone and the pattern I had loved in the FO shots had emerged. I could not have been more thrilled!

Socks in the park in Lindsay! (Thanks to Shireen for the photo!)

Dad loves these, too…and I will be knitting them again soon. He’ll still get his Long John Socks…those are next!

Pattern: Sign of Four (A Sock For Sherlock) by Anne Hanson

Yarn: SweetGeorgia Tough Love Sock in Espresso

Who Was It Made For? Dad

Were There Changes Made To The Pattern? Only in the sense that I made a slew of mistakes that luckily no one will notice.

Did I Learn Anything New? Yes…that I should check the pattern of the stitches on reserve for the instep before I start knitting the heel flap to make sure the configuration of the remaining stitches is correct.

Anything Else? Not that I recall.

Would I Make Another?: I already have it queued, for me this time, with a second skein of Tough Love Sock in a gorgeous blue green colourway called Deep Cove.