Retro Rib Socks Despite everything else that happened this month, I still managed to meet my Southern Summer of Socks goal of one pair per month. This pattern is “Retro Rib Socks” from Interweave’s Favorite Socks. (More photos are on Flickr.) I’ve now made FOUR pairs from this book; I love it. What I didn’t love was the yarn: TOFUtsies. It’s a blend of wool, cotton, “soysilk,” and chitin. (Yes, ground up crustaceans.) Sounds interesting, right? I had a hell of a time getting it to behave.
My first problem was that I tried casting on from the center of the ball, thinking I’d do my usual “knit two at once” trick. Right away I ran into difficulty. This yarn is so loosely spun and apt to split that I just couldn’t make any headway with it. A single strand would always be pulled loose from the rest and I just couldn’t get it to sit properly. I tried about three different patterns before giving up and going to the outside of the ball. That worked a lot better. (Of course, it also meant I had to knit them one at a time, so I had to battle a little Second Sock Syndrome.) Also, as the yarn has very little stretch, I had to cast on over two needles to get it loose enough to go over my leg, even though I’d already gone up to my usual 2.75mm needles.
Okay, so that’s all the negatives. In the positive column, it certainly feels very nice to wear. I even made the Snook try them on to gauge the prickliness factor, and whether I could use the fiber for him. (He likes them better than pure wool but still finds them itchy. Weirdo.) The other nice thing is the meterage. I had heaps of this yarn left over, and I didn’t make them deliberately short or anything. You’d defiitely get a man’s pair out of a single 100g ball.
Next up: Jaywalkers! I’ve finally given in to the temptation, seeing as how everybody else in the known universe has knitted them.
A few months ago over Ravelry, I floated the idea of a “secret pal” exchange on the Australian Knitters group. Lots of folks were onboard, and we hammered out a plan for a “Tea Cosy Swap.” Everybody was to knit a tea or coffee cosy for their pal, along with $20 or so worth of related treats. My secret pal was Jen, who occasionally comments over here. I made her three crafty things, along with homemade brownies, chocolate-covered coffee beans, and a pack of Japanese cookies. She got her package today, and despite a near tragic dog-related incident, she really liked it!
First up is the Tiki Head Coffee Plunger Cosy. On the questionnaire everyone filled out at the start of the swap, Jen had said that “I absolutely love kitsch, the sillier the better.” Folks, it was like waving a red flag at a bull. I brainstormed to come up with something suitably kitschy that fit the columnar shape of her plunger pot. Then it hit me – TIKI! After scouring Google for a while, I found some tiki faces that seemed suitable. I traced my favorite in Photoshop and turned it into a crude knitting chart. Jen described her 4-cup plunger pot as being 12 inches in diameter and 6 inches high. The following pattern is based on that, but you can easily adjust it to fit other sizes.
Cast on 75 stitches using 8ply wool and 4mm needles.
Knit K1P1 rib for a bit to keep it from rolling up at the bottom. I did 4 rows in total.
Switch to stockinette stitch, and knit 8-10 rows. Now you’re ready to start the chart.
Next row: Knit 10, place stitch marker, follow face chart (18 stitches), place stitch marker, knit 19, place stitch marker, follow face chart (18 stitches), place stitch marker, knit 10.
Continue following chart, knitting stockinette stitch throughout other sections. When chart is finished, knit another 12 or so rows in stockinette stitch. Cast off.
Use duplicate stitch to add teeth and eye highlights, and to embroider “TIKI” (or something else) in the center between motifs. Use backstitch (a thinner yarn helps) to add outlines to face and around letters. Sew top and bottom edges together for about one inch, leaving opening for handle. Add fringe to the sections over the faces.
Next up is the Magical Octarine Hotpad. Jen had mentioned that she could use a hotpad, and I knew from peeking at her Ravelry groups that she was a Terry Pratchett fan. And while I’ve read a couple of the Discworld novels myself, I didn’t know them nearly well enough to come up with any clever ideas. So I did some research and asked some questions.
Octarine (the colour of magic) is described as a “greenish-yellow purple.” I figured that the nearest non-wizard approximation was using one strand of greenish-yellow cotton and one of purple. I combined the two and used a slightly smaller needle than expected to make it a bit bulkier. Octagons also have special magical significance, so I decided to make my dishcloth/hot pad octagonal.
Cast on 80 stitches on a 6mm needle using two strands held together. Join for knitting in the round.
You get the idea. Just go til you get down to the last 8, and then draw the cotton through and pull tight. I also crocheted a loop on one side so it’s hangable.
The last item – “The Librarian” – was inspired by a suggestion on my Ask Metafilter question. Someone suggested I knit her an orangutan. (The librarian of Unseen University was transformed into an orangutan in the books.) While I do like to knit, knitting toys isn’t one of my strengths. However, making sock monkeys is!
The first step was to find some appropriate socks. This wasn’t easy. After checking three or four department stores’ hosiery departments and striking out, I stopped into Kmart on a whim and checked the men’s section. There they were! Bright orange Holeproof Explorer socks. (I think they’re meant for hunters.) And by turning them inside out, I even got a fluffy texture! I was sure I was onto a winner.
The actual construction was pretty easy, especially as I didn’t have a make a tail. (If you call the librarian a monkey, he’ll rip your arms off. Apes don’t have tails!) I modified my usual design a bit by shortening his legs and lengthening the arms. I also stuffed his belly a bit more to give him a paunch. I made more human-looking ears than usual too.
The last step was to knit him an “ook.” (That’s “book” to you and me.) This was knit out of scraps of 8ply wool on 4mm needles. I simply knitted 3 stockinette rectangles (two white, one black) and sewed them together to make a book. Then I used black stranded cotton to embroidery some mystical-looking runes inside. Then I just sewed it to his arm! (Which sounds cruel, but sock apes don’t have opposable thumbs, you know.)
I’m happy to report some Finished Objects for October. First up are my Whitby Socks, which I started on the way home from knitting camp at the beginning of the month. I had to frog and restart once, as the number of stitches suggested just wasn’t working for me. (I actually went up to 67 from the 51 suggested.) It was an easily memorized pattern and the cables were fun without being bothersome. I also tried out an eye of partridge heel for the first time. The original pattern is from Knitting on the Road and the yarn is the last of my Colinette Jitterbug. I love the colours, but I don’t think I’ll be getting any more. (My Vinnlands are already starting to pill and felt from a single wear.) I knitted these at the same time on 2.75mm needles using the two-circulars method. I’ll be cross-posting these at the Southern Summer of Socks as well. I think a goal of one pair per month is pretty do-able…
The other fun things I’ve been making are these toys from Jean Greenhowe’s Jiffyknits. I bought the book a few years ago for the Halloween stuff but somehow never remembered to make them before our party. So far I’ve made two pumpkins, a scary ghost, and Frankenstein’s monster. The patterns themselves are *extremely* simple. It’s literally just garter stitch strips with no shaping whatsoever. (You don’t even have to know how to purl to make these toys.) Construction isn’t quite as fiddly as I feared, though sometimes you have to cut circles of cardboard to reinforce the round shapes. And I’m not sure the whole “knit a boulder and sew Frankenstein’s legs to it to prop him up” worked very well. He’s kinda wobbly. I do love joggle eyes though…
AND – I’m happy to report that by posting these toys to Ravelry, I’ve now jumped to #4 on the list of people with Halloween projects. (You can see it on the “People” tab.) Next year I’m aiming for #1!
I have seen the future, and it is Araucania. Specifically, Araucania Ranco Solid and Ranco Multi. Both are 75% wool, 25% nylon. Both have over 340m per 100g skein (compared to a miserly 267 on Jitterbug). And both were in my hands this afternoon in the shop. I actually GASPED when Albert pulled them out of the bag. They’re beautiful. I told him they’re going to be a massive hit, so he should get a couple packets of every colour. Get ready!
Oh, and also coming: the breathtaking Mirasol Hacho (a 100% merino 8ply) and Mirasol Cotanani (a 60% cotton, 40% wool 8ply). Yes, you read that correctly. A wool/cotton blend READILY AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA. I swooned.
Thanks to everybody for all their kind words and commiseration. I feel kinda like I did a few years ago when I had several interviews at Kazaa and then they didn’t hire me. I rated that as my biggest disappointment of 2003. (Of course, they got raided by the copyright police a few months later, which helped to take the sting out.) A lot of people have been telling me today that this is some sort of sign, that I wasn’t meant to be at Google right now, that something better is on the horizon. And much as I’d like to believe that, in the harsh light of day I don’t really think there are any greater forces at work. It just didn’t happen. They didn’t need/want me right now. And that’s disappointing, yeah… but I also find myself being grateful for all the stuff I do have. We are buying an amazing house (I still have to tell you guys that whole story). I’m still working with people I care about in a business I want to succeed. I’ve got a great partner who supports me no matter what. I’m just going to try to remember these things.
Oh, and I did get a completely unexpected pick-me-up. I was idly trawling the Ravelry forums last night searching for mentions of the shop when i came across the following exchange from about a month ago. (“LYS” means “local yarn store.”)
palopinto: It makes me sad to see so many people who have had so many bad experiences in their LYS – I just wanted to share the love for my favorite shop.
I live in Brisbane, and our choices are extremely limited here. I don’t like buying yarn online, unfondled, because I like to feel stuff before I decide if it’s right for me.
Every time I travel to Sydney, I go to a particular yarn store in the city which has always, ALWAYS been amazing. The selection is great, the ambience is great, the staff are wonderful, and I love it there. They also sell online, which is awesome for needles and the WhatNot(tm) that every knitter needs.
I was in there yesterday, looking for yarn to make the mitred-squares shawl, and the chick in the shop (who had amazing hair and, strangely enough, was a fellow North American), was so helpful and friendly. She recognised my clappy, we chatted, I purchased, and it was all gold.
Camee: I think you’re talking Tapestry Craft, and I have a strange feeling the chick in the shop is also on ravelry 😉 . Was she blonde?
palopinto: You’re right about the store – how great is that place! The girl had brownish hair with pink and lavender-looking foils through it – so awesome 😉
HOW NICE IS THAT? It’s not often you get to overhear complete strangers saying that A) you’re good at your job and B) your hair looks “amazing.” That cheered me right up! 🙂
Thanks to the ever-fabulous kylie gusset, five skeins of the Knittery’s “Warm Pinks” Merino Cashmere sock yarn are winging their way to me from Melbourne. Not only is this a lovely yarn, but $5 from each skein is being donated towards breast cancer research. Two of the skeins are already claimed (by me and Hannah) but the other three are up for grabs if anyone’s interested. Because kylie got them at a discount for her bulk order and consolidated one Sydney shipment to me to save postage, each skein is $24.00 (lower than what you’d get on your own). Let me know if you’re interested!
There’s a major sh*tfight going on in the Ravelry forums today, and I’ve been watching with interest. It’s about privacy and the expectations people have when they join a social site. The owners basically announced that (as many of us hoped) once the site is out of beta, anyone will be able to visit the site and view your projects, stash, etc. You’ll still have to join in order to get your own Notebook, leave comments, send messages, or post in the forums. Fair enough. (This is exactly how Metafilter works.) The outcry is coming from folks who’ve contributed to groups and forums that they’d rather not be associated with their username (such as atheists, gays, etc.). I don’t get this. Who on the Internet still doesn’t know that you NEVER post anything in the expectation it will be private? It boggles the mind. And I don’t get their insistence that making the site password-protected will matter. Once they open sign-ups, anybody that wants to can join and “stalk” you that way. So what’s the point? *sigh* I’m just glad that Cassidy and Jess aren’t turning Ravelry into livejournal or Facebook. Down with closed communities!
I’ve been slacking off on the first week of the Southern Summer of Socks, mostly because of all the babies y’all keep having! As previously mentioned, my cousin Tony and his wife Molly just welcomed their daughter, Bailey, into the world. As this is the first GIRL I’ve had the opportunity to knit for, I jumped at the chance to pull out my pink yarn. I was gifted some glorious hot pink Manos del Uruguay Cotton Stria by my Secret Pal last June, and I decided it was just begging to become a Baby Surprise Jacket. I had just enough to squeak it out. I also found the most perfect big pink button in my button box:
It’s all ready to send off, along with some pink Tim Tams!
Retro Rib Socks
