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Yarnmule




"Knitting is very conducive to thought. It is nice to knit a while, put down the needles, write a while,
then take up the sock again." - Dorothy Day

Happiness Is A Warm Sock

Success! As I expected, I finished the socks on the plane. She put them on immediately after opening them, and a few hours later turned to me and said "Wow, they really are warm!"



Pattern: My own Chevrolace.

Yarn and needles: Trekking XXL, 75% superwash wool, 25% nylon. One 100gm skein in color 66. Knit on size 0 Inox DPN's for a foot circumference of 8 1/2". I loved this yarn. I've seen complaints that it is hard on the hands, but I didn't have that problem. While it's not as soft as some other luxury yarns, I found it to be a step up from Patons Kroy or Opal yarns.

Mods: None. I did make a discovery though; if you are on a deadline, knitting from a pattern you've already memorized is quite a time saver!

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Posted by yarnmule at 8:29 AM | Permalink to Happiness Is A Warm Sock | 1 Comments |

On Track

This afternoon, I hop on a plane to Minnesota. Somehow, some way, the Christmas socks are right on track.

I made it through the foot and heel on Sunday. Since then, I've worked two 11-hour days and two 14-hour days, missed Wednesday night knitting group, taken car service home from work (losing valuable subway knitting time) and still, they will be done.

Ten rounds left on leg. Twelve rows of ribbing. A little sewn bind-off, two ends to weave in, and I finish with time to spare. I can't fathom how I did it, but I'll just allow it to defy expectation and be grateful.

The only other knitting I'm bringing on this trip is the pumpkin socks. When we gt back, the wedding stole will gt picked up with a vengeance. I can't wait to get back to working on that; I've missed it terribly.

There will be FO shots when I get back. I just have to convince the SIL-to-be whom I barely know that photo shoots in the cold and snow are FUN!

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Posted by yarnmule at 6:33 AM | Permalink to On Track | 0 Comments |

The Home Stretch

One down, one to go.




I finished the first sock almost exactly one week after I started it. If the second sock moves at the same rate, I should finish on the plane on my way to the intended recipient's home. How's that for pushing the limit?

No other knitting has happened since I started these. Not a single stitch on the stole, not a single stitch on the pumpkin socks. I got nothing.

I do, however, have a winter storm blowing through the city. Perfect excuse to stay in and knit like the wind.


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Posted by yarnmule at 10:09 AM | Permalink to The Home Stretch | 0 Comments |

Christmas Knitting

I wasn't going to do any Christmas knitting this year. I've knit under pressure a few times (I remember in particular staying up until 3 am Christmas morning to finish a scarf) and it's just not so fun. This is supposed to be a hobby, after all, and once you throw in a deadline it tends to turn into work.

Then... my brother and I are e-mailing wish lists back and forth, and one of the items on his fiance's wish list was wool socks. He even included a little note that he could pick them up for me, since he knows where to get them. It's a good thing we weren't on the phone, or I would have snorted in his ear. I quizzed him a bit about her favorite colors (jewel tones) and ran to a LYS.

I picked up a ball of Trekking, which I've never knit with, but long wanted to. Look; pretty:

And what pattern would I be knitting? Oh please, like you don't already know.


Of course, the Chevrolace looks all crunchy and strange when it's not on a foot, but you'll get a preview of that when I'm a little further along. I'm knitting these at a looser gauge than I did for mine, and I have to say I like them better. The YO's are quite a bit bigger and more obvious, which is fun.
So yes, I now have deadline knitting. We are leaving for Minnesota on the 21st. Since we're staying with my brother and fiancee, these have to be finished before we get there. Tick tock.

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Posted by yarnmule at 1:46 PM | Permalink to Christmas Knitting | 1 Comments |

Introducing Chevrolace

For your knitting pleasure...





Pattern free of charge at the always fabulous Knitty. Go. View. Knit. Enjoy!

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Posted by yarnmule at 1:00 PM | Permalink to Introducing Chevrolace | 7 Comments |

Forest And Food

I had myself a very knitterly weekend, staying inside and hiding from the cold. I've been trying to restrict myself to two projects; the stole, and the latest pair of socks for travel knitting. As it turns out, progress shows quickly when you're not spreading it around so much.

First up is a stole update. I'm not going to show any more pictures until I have the first half done, but it is moving along. I am through row 170 of the first half; only about 100 to go. Hmm, that seems worse when I type it. OK, let's try again. I am well over 1/4 of the way through! See, that's better. I did get about 50 rows done this weekend, so I'm feeling pretty good about it, in all it's white blobbiness.

Fear not, you do get a picture. These are the latest subway knitting, more socks for BBMM. He has deemed them the Pumpkin Socks, and there really isn't a name more appropriate.




This is knit in the Spirit Trails Fiberworks yarn I bought at Rhinebeck. The solid olive was also bought at Rhinebeck, and is an attempt to get the pair out of one skein. The toes will be solid as well. I should know better than to make men's socks top-down, but I really wanted BBMM to have a pair with heel flaps; I think he'll like the way they fit better than short-row heels.

There's something about hand-dyed yarn that I swear makes me knit faster. Everything is interesting to knit, even when it really, really isn't. I love that every stitch is a slightly different color. The color in this picture is not exactly perfect; it's close, but in reality everything is a little less bright, a little more subtle, and quite a bit less orange. On the train tonight, I started trying to name every little bit of color that came across the needles. I found spruce and moss, and mahogany and pumpkin, and that golden orange-yellow that you only ever see in autumn leaves at their absolute peak. I got butterscotch and milk chocolate and brown sugar and olives and curry.

It won't take me long to finish these, but I suspect I will remain hungry until I do.

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Posted by yarnmule at 9:20 PM | Permalink to Forest And Food | 0 Comments |